Shikon Hentai High
by ButtButtDoodle
Summary: Detention. For the next two months. With the older brother of the boy she was crazy-in-love with. It was going to be a long semester for Kagome Higurashi. / SessKag, One-Sided KagInu, Teacher-Student fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Series:** Inuyasha

 **Universe:** Modern Highschool AU

 **Pairing:** Eventual SessKag, Onesided KagInu

 **Rating:** PG-13 ( For now, susceptible to change).

 **Disclaimer:** Inuyasha and its characters are the intellectual property of one Rumiko Takahashi. I only make bad fanfiction about it.

 **Author's notes:** I know some of you were expecting sequels for other drabbles but I'm kinda stuck on those and wanted to write something else so here. Setting up yet another mini series inside this compilation.

PS: This will be a multi-part series, divided into a mini drabbles within themselves that will potentially lead to some minor-adult smut. DEAL.

* * *

888

The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, casting long, dark shadows over the empty classroom floor.

On the far end of the room, his back facing the clean whiteboard, a man leaned back in his chair with a tired sigh. Yellow eyes, dull from hours of staring at papers, gazed unfocusedly at the ceiling. Perhaps, he mulled in his mind sluggishly, that had been enough grading for the day. He would continue with the rest during the weekend and hand the graded essays next Monday. Besides, his students would be much too worried about the midterm test he had scheduled for the next day to even think about their grades on that week's homework.

Getting up from his chair stiffly, the man stretched his long limbs, opening his mouth in a large yawn. Had any students been around, they would have been alarmed to see their usually composed teacher acting rather inelegantly. For his part, the young educator was far too tired to care. He grabbed the freshly printed tests and knelt next to the metal file cabinet alongside his desk. Fiddling with his keychain for a few moments, he let out a soft grunt of victory as he found the right key and, with deft fingers, unlocked the drawer. The tests were unceremoniously stuffed into a file holder without a second thought and he closed the drawer, locking it once more. He checked the lock was set and, once satisfied, rose to his feet and began to put away his laptop and papers inside his messenger bag.

Many on the staff had accused him of being overly paranoid in his methods, going as far as locking every single drawer in his classroom. But he had hung around enough teenagers (and had even raised a rowdy teenage brother all by himself) to know the desperate lengths to which students were willing to go to get a good grade on his tests.

Admittedly, they would not be half so desperate if he didn't make the tests so bloody difficult. The teahcer paused in his clean-up, pondered his poor student's predicament for a second, then shrugged to himself. It wasn't his problem if they didn't pay attention in class.

A noise from outside caught his attention. His eyes, deep amber in the red light of the sun, shot up and scanned the windows. His classroom was on a first floor, strange for high school teacher, but he wasn't one to complain. It meant he was closer to the exit in case of an emergency, and would be more available to help out in any situation. But it also meant that it was a prime target for vandalism.

He couldn't see the shadows of any hooligans from where he stood. Had that window in the corner opened slightly? Terse seconds passed, and he hesitated, wondering if he should walk up to the windows and see if there was someone-

His pocket buzzed loudly. Suddenly drawn from the situation, the man looked down and reached into his pants, pulling out his cellphone. Pale white eyebrows furrowed, as he recognized the newest text message as coming from his brother. Strange, since the boy rarely texted him…

 _'U coming home yet? Starving'_

The man lifted one elegant eyebrow, unimpressed. Of course his useless sibling would text him for food. He shook his head, bangs moving side to side. The boy was like a dog sometimes.

Done with his duties for the day and ready to head home, the young teacher crossed the classroom in long, light strides but stopped at the doorway. He gave one last suspicious stare at the window.

 _Perhaps…_ he wondered suspiciously.

He closed his eyes and shaking his head once more scoffed, before crossing the threshold into the school hallway and locking the door behind him with a final click. The soft clack of his designer shoes echoed down the hall and disappeared, and the classroom was completely silent. The wind rustled outside, as the room was bathed in deep reds and golds, casting the desks in soft light. Seconds ticked by like this until…

"I think he's gone." A rough voice whispered.

The window on the far end of the classroom opened soundlessly. It used to squeak noisily, but they had made sure to grease it beforehand.

Two figures eased their way inside the room through the open sill. The first moved with practiced stealth, the alert movements of a body well used to sneaking around. The second was less graceful, clumsily inching through the small opening with terrified wariness, clearly hoping not to stumble or make any noise. This small window of opportunity – both literal and metaphorical - as the teachers left for the day and the campus security started their shift was the only chance they had. If the teacher somehow heard them, they would be discovered before they could finish their mission. Stealth was the operative word, and they moved like shadows against the setting sun.

One of the figures, a tall male, skulked over to the teacher's desk. Wide yellow eyes scanned the clean surface, looking for something, and squinting gleefully when they landed on a paperclip. Grabbing it, the boy carefully rearranged its shape with practiced fingers and shuffled around the desk to squat next to the large grey cabinet. The smaller figure, a girl, watched hesitantly from the windowsill. On slightly trembling legs, she edged towards the crouching boy picking the cabinet lock.

"Inuyasha?" she whispered, and her breath was uneven. Inuyasha didn't answer, concentrated on the paperclip moving the gears of the lock.

She wrung her hands uneasily, throwing nervous glances toward the locked door that led to the school hallway. Was she imagining a silhouette peeking inside? Looking back at her accomplice with anxious blue eyes, sweat accumulating under her bangs, she tried to catch his attention again.

"Inuyasha, maybe I should stand guard by the door. You know, in case someone comes back?"

Inuyasha didn't bother looking up. "Kagome, will you relax? No one's coming back."

Kagome wasn't reassured in the slightest by his gruff reply. Leave it to headstrong Inuyasha to not feel any fear in the face of expulsion. After all, if they were caught stealing the answers for the tests tomorrow, it would be both of their academic careers on the line.

Kagome tried again, kneeling ever so slightly down to look at what he was doing.

"I still think I should go check. We could get in a lot of trouble."

"We'll be fine. I got this"

"But what if Taisho-sensei comes back for something-"

Inuyasha slammed his fist against the metal drawer, startling her. "For fucks sake, Kagome! Do you see anything worth coming back for in here?" he snapped in a low hiss. Kagome shook her head, eyes wide. She wasn't used to the young man raising his voice at her. Inuyasha scoffed and went back to trying to pick the lock. "Now shut your trap, dummy. I can't concentrate with you yapping in my ear."

Kagome bit her lips, both out of obedience and to stop the barrage of insults from spilling out of her mouth. Inuyasha had the knack to always hurt her with the simplest combination of words. But now was not the time to berate him; they had to move quickly. As loathe as she was to admit it, the raven-haired girl needed Inuyasha's help to pull this off.

Correction, she and _Kikyo,_ her twin sister, both needed him.

After all, this was their idea to begin with. Happy as Inuyasha was to continue flunking this particular class, Kikyo and Kagome had reputations to uphold as straight-A students.

 _Although leave it to Kikyo to conveniently have archery practice on the day we planned on stealing the tests_ , Kagome mentally grumbled, unkindly. Her sister, Kikyo, was the mastermind behind all of this, and had even roped their childhood friend Inuyasha into their little scheme. Most recognized Kikyo as the older and most responsible of the two Higurashi twins, but Kagome knew the mild-mannered girl could be a conniving little thing when she wanted to.

Kagome watched anxiously as the white-haired youth struggled with the paper clip, pushing and twisting mercilessly, but the cabinet remained stubbornly shut.

"Goddammit!" Inuyasha hissed under his breath.

This was taking too long. Precious seconds ticked away and any moment now they would be discovered.

"Inuyasha-" Kagome whispered hurriedly.

"Just give me a sec, Kagome. I almost got it! I just-"

"Inuyasha." she tried again more forcibly, putting a halting hand on his shoulder and catching his frustrated eyes. "Maybe this is a sign."

Inuyasha shrugged off her hand, looking down at the bent clip with contempt. "Don't be dense. This always works. Its's just this stupid paperclip…" he trailed off, bending and twisting the tortured piece of metal.

It was Kagome's turn to scoff and shake her head at him. "Just because it works in movies, doesn't mean it'll work in real life, you dumbass!"

Inuyasha's head whipped up at that, eyebrows raised at the profanity coming out of Kagome's mouth.

Kagome forged on, the words leaving her in a rush. "I just don't think…I'm not sure if I'm this desperate to get a good grade. We could both get in serious trouble, Yasha." She finished, falling into the casual pet-name she always used when they were younger, more innocent. It felt like so long ago.

Inuyasha's eyes softened, probably remembering the same carefree days of their childhood, and remained quiet for a moment.

And then Kagome heard soft chuckling and looked up to find Inuyasha smiling at her, shaking his head.

"You've always been such a crybaby, Kagome." the white-haired boy teased, although there was no malice in his tone. He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her close until Kagome's forehead rested in the protective nook of his neck. Kagome squeaked at the sudden proximity, but Inuyasha was still talking. "The test is practically in our hands, I'm not backing out now. If I did, it would mean failing you and Kikyo, and I couldn't live with that.

Blood rushed to her cheeks with burning intensity, and Kagome shut her eyes tightly. Shy fingers wrapped around the front of his school uniform, not wanting to let this moment pass. _Inuyasha…_

But all too soon, Inuyasha pulled away, looking at her with that famous intense determination he always had.

"I promise that if this drawer doesn't open in the next three minutes, we'll leave. But please give me a chance to help you guys." He breathed, his eyebrows drawn down, his face resolute. Realization fell upon her as Kagome considered him, knowing that she would not be able to convince him to drop the matter, not that she felt inclined to.

Actually, at the moment all thoughts of tests and grades and thievery had abandoned her. Instead they were replaced with all of those girlish fantasies she had harbored since early youth, and they were all crowding into this moment because-

-Inuyasha was unbearably close to her. His face was mere inches apart, and if Kagome only tilted her head, _even just a bit…_

Her face became even hotter. Leave it to her brain to think of inappropriate things when there were more important matters at hand. They were in the midst of criminal activity, and all Kagome could think off was kissing her best friend, the boy she had secretly loved for the past god-knows-how-many years. Out of all the scenarios she had imagined confessing in, engaging in theft was certainly not one of them. But Kagome didn't know if she would ever have such an intimate moment with the boy again. It was now or never.

"Inuyasha…?" she faltered, voice wavering.

The boy looked up questioningly, his eyes beautiful, like melted gold. He was so handsome, and fierce and annoying and wonderful, and a million other things that she loved.

Kagome opened her mouth-

-And never knew what she would've said after, because suddenly the handle to the classroom door started twisting.

Inuyasha's ever-perceptive ears caught it, and he grabbed the petite raven and dragged her under the desk in one smooth motion. Before Kagome could protest about the rough treatment, he clasped a hand over her mouth and hissed, "Quiet! Someone's coming!"

Kagome instantly stilled, heartbeat loud against her eardrums as she strained to listen.

The door opened with a deafening click and creaked loudly as light streamed across the floor. Whoever had opened the door walked slowly, the subtle clack of shoes making their way to their hiding spot with calculated rhythm. Suddenly they stopped right in front of the desk.

Silence stretched on, and Kagome was sure that her heart was trying to beat its way out of her chest. If they were caught, she and Inuyasha would face expulsion and it would be her fault! She shut her eyes tightly, willing the person to go away, to pick-up whatever they had forgotten and leave without being none the wiser about their presence in the room.

Inuyasha's phone buzzed.

Both teens stared at each other wide-eyed. They hoped the vibrating sound wasn't as loud to the other person as it was to them.

It buzzed again, and Inuyasha cursed under his breath.

"You know little brother, if you won't answer my messages, at least have the decency to stand and face me."

Inuyasha cursed again, out loud this time. There was no mistaking that voice. Putting a finger to his lips so Kagome saw the gesture, Inuyasha carefully disentangled himself from the petite raven and rose to his feet. The white-haired teen shoved his hands into his pockets and gave his teacher a cocky grin.

"You caught me, big bro." Inuyasha growled in that rough voice of his, making his way around the desk and towards the familiar man with yellow eyes in long confident strides.

Sesshoumaru's face betrayed no emotion as his younger brother walked up to him, completely unabashed at having been caught sneaking into school.

"Inuyasha, this is a curious place to search for food if you were hungry." Sesshoumaru observed, lifting his phone and referencing the text message he had received earlier. Inuyasha forced out a laugh, rubbing the back of his head in an act of sheepish embarrassment.

"Thought I'd play a prank on you, but as always you're too smart for me, Sesshoumaru."

"Indeed." Sesshoumaru agreed blandly. "Although I fail to see how your prank would have panned out without your target even being in the same room."

"Well, it didn't work obviously, so let's just forget this and go home, alright? You can ground me when we get there or whatever." the younger boy offered offhandedly.

Meanwhile, Kagome had been completely quiet throughout the entire exchange. Inuyasha was walking away, and with a jolt of her heart, Kagome realized he was leading Sesshoumaru away from her. He was planning on taking the blame by himself!

Sesshoumaru made a sound of acknowledgement on the back of his throat, but did not move from his spot. "I would like nothing more than to leave for our home, Inuyasha. But first…" Yellow eyes slid from Inuyasha's anxious face to the top of the wooden desk. "Tell your friend she can stop hiding."

A silence settled between them.

Laughing nervously, Inuyasha asked, "What friend?"

Rigid yellow eyes fixed the fidgeting youth with a hard stare, clearly no longer amused with the stunt. Turning away from the sweating face of his younger sibling, Sesshoumaru walked up to the wooden furniture and knocked on the surface, causing the figure underneath to jump and bump it's head on the roof of the desk. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Sesshoumaru had to hide back a smile.

"You may rise, Miss Higurashi." he proclaimed confidently.

Timidly, a fluffy head appeared into view, until the rest of the body followed shortly and the figure very slowly got up. Sesshoumaru noticed with amusement the remarkable shade of red her face was turning into. This time though, he did look mildly surprised.

"I was expecting the other Miss Higurashi." Sesshoumaru admitted outloud, eyeing Kagome with faint curiosity, then humming under his breath. "Although, I suppose finding you here instead should be no surprise either."

A mixture of emotions stirred inside the young raven, the most prominent being perplexed. It always unnerved her how Sesshoumaru could consistently tell her and her sister apart, when even her own mother struggled with it sometimes. Besides Inuyasha, nobody else had bothered to try, and she always burned to ask how it was that he always knew. Instead she asked, "How did you know I was hiding under the desk?"

"You mean, how did I know that my brother was not smart enough to mastermind this very crude, albeit ambitious, attempt to steal the answers to the test?" her teacher corrected flatly.

"Hey!" An offended Inuyasha shouted from his spot. Sesshoumaru ignored him, pinning down the squirming girl with a fierce stare.

"Try as I might to encourage him, Inuyasha unfortunately doesn't care that he is currently failing my class. Despite the tragic state of his grades though, he would never dream of stealing the tests. And he would also not take the test for someone else's gain and profit. That is…" he continued, taking a step closer to the girl, causing her to tilt her head back slightly to retain eye contact. "…unless that someone else was your sister or you."

Kagome gulped. Sesshoumaru might not be the most affectionate brother - he was certainly winning no awards for Sibling of the Year - but she knew deep down he cared for Inuyasha. He must've, seeing as he had taken sole custody of the boy at the tender age of 16. As such, it would come as no surprise that he would be understandably upset with the Higurashi twins for getting him mixed up in this sort of situation.

It wasn't that Inuyasha was a saint by any stretch of the imagination – he was a juvenile delinquent in the making if Kagome ever saw one. That been said, Inuyasha was also a kind, loyal, and caring boy who tried to do what was right for his friends, at the cost of his own reputation. The fact that Kikyo and Kagome had dragged him into something potentially criminal - well, that just made _them_ sucky friends…

Kagome glanced past her teacher to the frowning boy standing beyond her, at the boy she claimed she loved, and swallowing her fear came to a decision.

"Actually…" she started, rapidly organizing her thoughts. Both brothers were studying her, Inuyasha wary and Sesshoumaru inquisitive. Kagome gathered her courage and plunged on. "Actually, Inuyasha didn't plan this, at all, Taisho-sensei. I did!" Kagome proclaimed, and she was kind of proud that her voice didn't waver.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha reprimanded, but Kagome ignored him.

"And my sister Kikyo too! We both ordered Inuyasha to help us steal the tests-"

There was a growl and a bang as Inuyasha slammed his fist on the tabletop of one of the chairs.

"Kikyo had nothing to do with this!" Inuyasha snarled, and Kagome's mouth snapped shut so fast her teeth clacked.

Inuyasha was really angry now, a mad fire burning in his bright yellow eyes. "Not that we're 'fessing up or anything, but if you gotta blame someone, this was all on Kagome and me. _I_ convinced Kagome to come with me and help steal the tests. But leave Kikyo out of it." He gave Kagome a side-eyed glare and the girl visibly flinched.

So he was willing to protect one twin over the other…?

Sesshoumaru pointedly ignored his younger brother's outburst, his stoic disposition untouched, and turned piercing yellow eyes on the petite girl before him. "I expected as much from a wrongdoer like my brother. And even , though it may surprise you to hear it, from your sister, Kikyo… but you?" he breathed softly, almost accusingly, and he peered at her with such scolding familiarity, like he did for all of her younger years when she and Kikyo would come over to their house to play. Back then, Sesshoumaru would look down his perfectly short and straight nose at a giggly six-year old Kagome as she played cops and thieves with Inuyasha and her sister. His lip would curl in distaste at how sweaty and dirty the trio would become and he walk away unimpressed to do cool eleven-year-old things. He had always made her feel small then, and he was making her feel small now.

Sesshoumaru shook his head, and Kagome saw with heartbreak his face morph into one of betrayed discontent. "I am disappointed, Kagome."

Kagome hung her head, cheeks burning with shame. Eyes shut tight, she tried to pretend that she was not standing in that room, caught by a man she had always desperately wanted to be acknowledged by, or that two pairs of yellow eyes were judging her for completely different reasons. Kagome was not very good at pretending though.

The sun finished setting across the horizon, and the classroom was drowned in shadows and darkness, much like Kagome's mind.

* * *

Like a living marble statue that had walked out of a museum, Sesshoumaru Taisho was generously built, evidenced by the muscles on his exposed forearms whenever he rolled up his sleeves during class – much to the general joy of every single girl (and a few guys) of the classroom. Taisho-sensei was always finely dressed, wearing a button-up white shirt with a red tie and indigo dress pants. His hair was long, a rarity among adult men, and to make it even more of a stand-out was a natural platinum white. This should have disqualified him as a teacher, seeing as some may have considered it too flashy. But he wore it with such confidence that it suited him to perfection and Kagome could not picture him with any other hairstyle.

He was somber, though amiable, and was quick with a good-natured comeback whenever any of the male students wanted to get smart with him. Only a handful of years older than his pupils, it made it easier for them to relate to the suave older man, but not enough to disrespect him. Taisho-sensei's aura commanded a sense of admiration and awe among the students and staff, and it was only natural that he would become their school idol.

At this moment though, he was not Kagome Higurashi's favorite person.

"Detention?!" Kagome screeched.

Sesshoumaru's eyebrow twitched, the only pain indicator at her high pitch. Kagome bit her lip, chagrined; she forgot how sensitive the Taisho sibling's hearing was.

"Yes, Higurashi, detention. Every Friday after school for the rest of the semester." He clarified as he surreptitiously drew his hand up and massaged the outside of his eardrum.

It was exactly a week after she and Inuyasha had been caught, and she currently found herself sitting in Taisho-sensei's office during lunch-break period. She had thought that being pulled away from Pizza Friday at the cafeteria was bad enough, but this?

About to protest at the unfairness of the punishment, Kagome opened her mouth, when Sesshoumaru pinned her down with two piercing yellow eyes. "Would you rather face _suspension_ like Inuyasha?" he proposed darkly.

Kagome's rant withered on her tongue like sizzling Alka-Seltzer and she shut her mouth, immediately chastised. Both her and Inuyasha had been spared the unforgiving rod of expulsion, thanks in large part to a lot of string-pulling by Sesshoumaru. Despite being his own flesh and blood (or perhaps because of it) Inuyasha had been given a week's worth of suspension for the event. The rebellious white-haired teen might not have cared too much, but Kagome didn't need something like that on her academic record, especially if she wanted to go to med school. Pressing her lips into a grim line, she looked down at the floor.

"No, Taisho-sensei. I would not." She murmured listlessly, answering his question.

Sesshoumaru sized the girl up with a calculating look, in the same lazy fashion that a lion assesses a gazelle. Kagome squirmed in her seat, blushing. It wasn't that she was attracted to Sesshoumaru (and she wouldn't be wrong to be, considering how handsome he was), but his eyes were so similar to Inuyasha's… it did something strange to her heart. But then again, Inuyasha never looked at her so closely like this, analyzed every single part of her, yellow eyes scanning her up and down like burning laser beams that made her squeeze her thighs –

"See, Higurashi? You're not as dumb as you believe yourself to be." Sesshoumaru abruptly spoke up, and Kagome glared up at the sting, all heated thoughts abandoning her in an instant. How could she compare this cruel bastard to Inuyasha!?

Sesshoumaru was standing up, his long and toned body cutting an impressive figure in the cramped office. "I must head back to class, as should you unless you wish to add "skipping" to your budding list of petty felonies." Kagome shook her head mutely as he walked past her. "Good. Well, Higurashi, I expect to see you here today after class to start your first session."

"Today!?" Kagome called after him. No, no, she had made plans to go to the movies with Inuyasha and Kikyo today! "But it's the weekend! Can't this punishment wait until _next_ Friday?"

Sesshoumaru stopped at the doorway, and Kagome swore she saw the hint of a smirk in his Adonis face. "Do not be late." Sesshoumaru warned kindly, and continued down the hallway, leaving a very peeved Kagome in his wake.

Detention. For the rest of the school year. With the brother of the boy she was head over heels for. No amount of Pizza Friday could erase the sour taste in her mouth that the news left.

It was going to be a long semester.

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Please R&R! It helps Butt-chan know if you guys like it or not!


	2. Chapter 2

**Series:** Inuyasha

 **Universe:** Modern Highschool AU

 **Pairing:** Eventual SessKag, Onesided KagInu

 **Rating:** PG-13 ( For now, susceptible to change).

 **Disclaimer:** Inuyasha and its characters are the intellectual property of one Rumiko Takahashi. I only make bad fanfiction about it.

 **Author's notes:** This will be a various part series, divided into a multitude of mini drabbles within themselves that will potentially lead to some minor-adult smut. DEAL.

* * *

 **Hentai High II**

888

"Higurashi, what are you still doing here?"

Kagome let out a very unladylike snort as she sat up from her sleeping position on the desk. She swiftly peeled away the graded test that was stuck to her cheek and discreetly cleaned the string of saliva running down the corner of her mouth. Sesshoumaru watched her put herself together with raised eyebrows and Kagome blushed a bright pink.

' _Well, this is attractive.'_

She had been grading some tests as part of her detention, and she must've dozed off. Of course Sesshoumaru would find her in this undignified position.

"Just finishing up here, Taisho-sensei." she replied instead.

"It's late." Sesshoumaru offered unnecessarily.

 _'No shit, Sherlock, you're a genius.'_ Kagome grumbled internally.

Whose fault was it anyways that she was stuck at school on a Friday evening? This was her second week serving detention and she was already over it.

Kagome had nearly wept that first Friday when Sesshoumaru had dumped a tower of paperwork two feet tall in front of her desk. While she had been expecting to do a lot of work, she had certainly not expected _that_ much! The paper structure tipped precariously to the side under the weight, and Kagome prayed it would just tip over towards her and kill her on the spot.

Although death by homework was a pretty lame way to go.

Sesshoumaru had seemed unconcerned with her dismay. "These are the quizzes for Class A and B. This is the sheet with all of the correct answers." He threw the paper carelessly on top of the pile, and Kagome watched with growing apprehension as the tower swayed even more. "Please have these done by…"he chanced a look at his expensive watch, "6'o'clock." With that, the man turned towards the door.

"W-wait!" Kagome called after him, standing up quickly from the chair and bumping the desk. The tower wobbled, and Kagome held her breath, eyes transfixed. But then it stabilized and she let out a relieved sigh. Turning to her teacher once more, she asked, "What about you? Aren't you going to help me?"

Sesshoumaru stared at her, and deadpan replied.

"No."

"No?" Kagome breathed in disbelief.

"No." he said, and there seemed to be a sick sort of pleasure put inside that one word, the slightest curve of his lips causing the ghost of a smile to appear. "Do not complain, Higurashi. What is punishment for you today is my daily task. You come to enjoy it after a while. Or completely hate it. Depends on the day." He shrugged, and looked away at the distance pondering his choice of vocation and its sacrifices, wondering if he would have been better off pursuing something that did not involve paperwork.

After a moment, he realized Kagome was still gawking at him. "

Well, get to work." He instructed, and without further elaboration, he left and slammed the door shut.

The force of wind was enough to send the pile of papers crashing to the classroom floor.

Kagome let out a serious of frustrated screams.

The next detention had followed a similar pattern. She was escorted to his classroom, handed an obscene amount of work and then was left alone to figure it out by herself. Kagome had no idea where the man left during those three hours but she sure as heck hoped he was doing something productive. Although apparently it included finding his young students passed out on his desk.

Huffing out an annoyed breath, Kagome glanced out the window.

Sesshoumaru was right, it _was_ late. The sun was almost setting, its light shining weakly above the horizon line and casting the sky in warm reds and yellows. It made Sesshoumaru's white hair turn a glistening gold. Perhaps she was still not fully awake, but Kagome openly stared at the sight of him, mesmerized.

Alright, so she had to confess and come clean. Even as a young child, Kagome had always harbored the silly fantasy of touching Sesshoumaru's hair. She had braided Inuyasha's hair multiple times – much to the angry youth's disgruntlement – but while the same color as his older brother's, Inuyasha's hair was coarse and rather wild. Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru's hair had the cinematic appearance of high-quality shampoo commercials, the kind that made Kagome extremely envious and wanton with desire. If only he let her run her fingers through it, she thought pitifully, and out of their own volition her fingers twitched upwards, reaching out –

Sesshoumaru turned back to look at her with eyes that rivaled the setting sun, and her heart staggered.

"If you did not finish grading those tests you will not finish it in the next 20 minutes. Go home." Sesshoumaru grunted, effectively breaking whatever mysterious spell the young girl had been put under.

Kagome nodded, still reeling from the vision before her. When he wasn't being a total pain in the butt, she was always shocked to realize just how beautiful Sesshoumaru was. The vain part of her was a bit jealous, actually. But the woman side of her - the part that could not stop thinking of how his hair would feel sliding against her fingers, cascading down her chest and stomach and thighs - was incredibly frustrated.

Pushing such strange thoughts aside, Kagome began picking up her things, and jogged to the doorway where Sesshoumaru was already waiting for her. Admittedly, she was surprised when he held the door open for her and let her out first, instead of abandoning her as he usually did.

"Thanks." Kagome mumbled.

Wordlessly, he locked the door behind them and they made their way down the hall to the school entrance in silence. Kagome noted that despite his long legs, he kept his pace slow and steady so she could catch up, and tried not to think too hard about that, lest she actually start developing friendly feelings towards the man that was meting out her punishment.

Sesshoumaru discreetly slid his eyes to look down at the young student. Kagome was usually a chatterbox, but today she had been uncharacteristically quiet. Beside him, the girl was a million miles away, lost in thought.

Unaware of her teacher's watchful gaze, the tiny brunette was throwing herself a grand pity-party in her mind. Inuyasha's suspension had come and gone, but Kagome had not seen a whole lot of him since his return. Their relationship had been rather strained after the awkwardness of that night's events, and the boy barely talked to her.

Ever since middle school, it had become customary for their trio to leave school together at the same time, since they all lived nearby and had to walk the same route anyways. But these past two weeks, Kagome would walk back home by herself. No Kikyo, no Inuyasha. When the school bell rang every Friday, both her sister and the boy bolted for the door. Kikyo at least had the decency to throw a sympathetic wave at Kagome as she left, but Inuyasha was already far gone, telling her sister that they should stop for some popsicles on their way home. And just like that, Kikyo forgot about her sister, smiled at the boy that Kagome loved more than anything in the world and left.

Kagome had given everything to this boy. And yet…

The raven looked up as cool spring air brushed her bangs. She had been so lost in thought she hadn't realized she had followed Sesshoumaru all the way to the faculty parking lot instead of exiting through the front entrance. A bit embarrassed at her absentmindedness, she slowed to a stop. The raven was about to give an awkward goodbye to her teacher, when she nearly swallowed her tongue at the sight before her.

"Wait…that's YOURS?"

Sesshoumaru was standing beside a sleek metallic black motorcycle, unfastening a helmet from the wheel and fiddling with keys. Inserting the keys without much ceremony, the motorcycle roared to life like a beautiful and furious beast. The roar died down to a gentle purr, and Sesshoumaru looked back at his shocked student, amusement clearly writ on his face.

She just couldn't picture the sensible and solemn Taisho-sensei… driving a Ducati.

"It's a Honda NC700x actually." He corrected, and Kagome realized belatedly she had actually said the last part out loud. As if he hadn't heard her the first time, Kagome repeated her question, this time taking staggering steps forward and pointing at the mechanical monster. "This…this is yours? But how…? When…?"

Sesshoumaru looked over his shoulder as he straddled his bike, and Kagome gasped softly. He was smirking at her. For the first time in her life of knowing this man, he was openly smirking at her.

"Where else do you think Inuyasha got his rebellious streak from?"

Kagome had no answer to that. She could only continue to watch, befuddled, as Sesshoumaru adjusted himself on the seat. He looked up at her then, expectantly, and Kagome started.

"What?" she asked, finding his demanding gaze unnerving.

He raised one elegant eyebrow, in what Kagome was beginning to recognize as amusement. "It is late, and we live close to each other if I recall. I'll escort you home."

"On _that_?" the girl squeaked.

The eyebrow twitched, and Kagome translated it as a chuckle. She was getting good at reading his non-verbals. "Would you rather walk in the dark by yourself then?"

"I think I would. Much less precarious to my health and all." Kagome mumbled, but stayed on the spot transfixed.

If Sesshoumaru were the type to roll his eyes he would have. Instead, he angled his head to the side with a huff. "Get on the damn bike, Higurashi." He commanded, and shoved the helmet into her startled arms.

Kagome hesitated for a second, unsure.

"Hey."

Kagome's blue eyes glanced up into intent yellow eyes. Sesshoumaru's brow was drawn down at Kagome's genuine fear, his face a mask of reassurance and comfort. "You'll be safe with me. I promise."

Blushing at his sincerity and concern, Kagome nodded dumbly at him, believing the kind man with a fierceness that would've frightened her. He reminded her so much of his brother in that instance, and yet not, and her heart panged painfully at the memory of Inuyasha.

Sesshoumaru nodded and put on his leather gloves. With practiced ease, he kicked the kickstand with the sole of his boot and turned to face the parking lot. All that was left was for Kagome to hop on.

The raven took a deep breath and placed the helmet on her head. It was surprisingly less claustrophobic than she had expected. With trepidation, she placed a wavering foot where Sesshoumaru pointed and, steadying herself by holding her sensei's shoulders, pushed off. She overshot though, and the momentum nearly sent her sprawling to the other side and crashing to the concrete, but Sesshoumaru's powerful hands reached behind and held onto Kagome's thighs, planting her firmly in place.

The girl was both thankful and sorry that his palm was not directly touching the skin of her naked thigh, due to the barrier of the glove. That would have made things ten times more awkward than it already was. Once steady, Sesshoumaru's hand was quick to slide away from his student's leg and back to the bike, as if she were no more tempting than a cactus.

Without Sesshoumaru's strong hands to keep her in place, Kagome's body naturally slid down the gentle slope of the bike's chair, pushed down by gravity, and her hips pressed snugly against Sesshoumaru's backside like some sort of perverse puzzle. She felt lewd and sexy and scared out of her mind.

And they hadn't even ridden off yet.

As if on cue, the engine roared to life again, causing Kagome to jump a foot in the air and inciting a chuckle from her teacher.

"Down, girl." Sesshoumaru murmured fondly to the bike, and as if understanding it's master's command, the rumble of the machine dulled down to a powerful purr.

"Hold on tight." The white-haired man called over his shoulder casually.

"To what?!" Kagome cried back, panic evident in her tone.

Sesshoumaru didn't answer, just revved the machine and Kagome didn't have enough time to ask again before the man sped out of the parking lot at breakneck speed. She let out something between a yelp and a shout, arms shooting outward to wrap around Sesshoumaru on reflex.

"Bastard Dog!" Kagome cursed, but her voice was swept away by the rush of the wind and the roar of the engine. She felt Sesshoumaru's back vibrate, and knew the man was laughing.

Kagome had never seen a motorcycle upfront in real life, much less rode one. Sure, she saw them on the road, zipping through the lanes, and the raven always looked away, the vulnerability such a frail machine created making her queasy. A car crash was painful, but at least there was a larger survival rate in comparison. No, she had never really liked motorcycles, so Kagome could be forgiven for acting like a total wuss as she held onto Sesshoumaru's waist for dear life.

Everything around them was passing by in a frenzied blur, and paranoid images of their bodies flying off the bike haunted the young woman. She squeezed her eyes shut, and burrowed her face into the man's large and powerful back, holding on even tighter.

Sesshoumaru was driving too fast, she knew it, was 100% sure of it. This couldn't possibly be within the parameters of the speed limit. They were going to get pulled over. They were going to get into an accident. They were going to crash and die and Kagome would never get to graduate from high school or confess to Inuyasha, and stupid _stupid_ Sesshoumaru-!

"That's quite a tight grip you got there." She heard Sesshoumaru say, voice muffled by withheld laughter.

Kagome jumped at the unexpected loudness of his voice, shaking her out of her hysterical stupor, when she noticed something off. Why weren't they moving? Did they die? Eyes slowly prying themselves open, Kagome blinked back at the light bearing down on her visor. There were cars on either side of them, engines running but standing still, and Kagome craned her neck upwards to see a red light blinking down at her mockingly. They were at a stoplight, she realized.

All too quickly though, the light turned green and Sesshoumaru kicked off the ground forcibly and sped down road. Kagome gave another squeak, but this time she was actually ready for it. It didn't stop her from practically straddling her teacher, thighs squeezing intimately against the other man's legs, hips pressing unabashedly closer to Sesshoumaru. She tried not too think about the state of her modesty at that time, more than aware by the cool wind near her hip that short skirts and motorcycles did not mix.

The man on the wheel, for his part, had other things occupying his mind.

Sesshoumaru's leather jacket wasn't zipped up, and he could feel the shorter woman's hands tangled in his shirt. One hand was fisted over his heart, bunching up the fabric and accidently pulling his shirt upward, revealing his flat stomach to the chilled wind. The other hand pressed against his naked abdomen, dull fingernails digging into his flexed abs. Whenever he caught sight of those thin, child-like fingers entangled almost perversely in his shirt, a thrill ran down Sesshoumaru's spine.

Sesshoumaru tried not to think too much of that, although he knew the tantalizing image would be revisiting his thoughts and dreams later that night, in other very inappropriate scenarios, and he _really_ should stop that train of thought right there. Annoyed at his wandering libido, Sesshoumaru revved the bike much more forcibly than necessary and sped up the highway.

Kagome's fingers pressed even harder against his heated skin.

He sighed mentally in frustration.

This was going to be a long semester.

* * *

I know, no smut yet. Trying to set it up tho, as believable as possible in such short drabbles. Are you guys enjoying this so far? I'm sorry about not updating "Teacher's Favorite", "Pupil of My Eye" and "They Call It Puppy Love". Grad school has me seriously drained and knowing people have high expectations of those other three stories has me majorly blocked. Doing these short non-fuss drabbles is fun and quick tho, so expect more of these.


	3. Chapter 3

**Series:** Inuyasha

 **Universe:** Modern Highschool AU

 **Pairing:** Eventual SessKag

 **Rating:** PG-13

 **Disclaimer:** Inuyasha and its characters are the intellectual property of one Rumiko Takahashi. I only make bad fanfiction about it.

 **Author's notes:** Actually wrote about 6000 words this time around, but decided it would be best to divide into separate chapters of 1,000 words to keep you guys in tension (buahaha) and also to give myself a chance to catch up with my other fics, since this one already has a few chapters in reserve.

Hope you guys are finding this enjoyable. And sorry again for the lack of actual smut, but I like to take my time ;). Think of this as foreplay lol.  
Again, these little drabbles are stress-relief for me and I just write them for fun, but I ALWAYS appreciate any input/criticism and such. So don't hesitate to R&R!

* * *

 **Hentai High III**

888

Kagome tried not to think about how weird and fun it was that Sesshoumaru was hanging out with her.

All right, _technically_ they weren't hanging out. She was in _detention_ and he, as her homeroom teacher and the man who caught her trying to steal the answers to the midterm test (with his _baby brother,_ no less) was supervising her detention time. So it wasn't that he was voluntarily enjoying her company. But minor details, really.

Sly blue eyes slid to watch him from her periphery. Sesshoumaru was sitting next to her, a perfect living statue, carved from marble by artists of the Renaissance. Translation: unfairly attractive and out of her league. He was so beautiful, even in repose, that it hurt. Every now and then he would swivel slightly in his rolling chair, which he had brought from his office because he refused to endure sitting for three hours in one of those metal cubicles that the students used. When Kagome reminded him that she as a student needed to sit on those damn uncomfortable contraptions for hours on end, daily, for years and years, he sniffed at her. 'I did my time as a student. I have earned my privilege.' And with that, he had buried his nose into his book and promptly proceeded to ignore her for the rest of the hour.

Or so he pretended. Whenever Kagome would run into a particularly hilarious answer that a hapless student wrote down (in a desperate attempt to fill out Sesshoumaru's notoriously difficult quizzes), she would eagerly rouse him from his reading. And although acting disgruntled at the interruption, the man would abandon the book immediately without much prodding and move his chair closer. Leaning towards her - invading her personal space in ways that often made Kagome uncomfortable and giddy - he would then proceed to make fun of the answer alongside the raven.

Sometimes he would grab the paper from her hand and their fingers – his, long and slender; hers, small and childish – would touch and Kagome would be left feeling warm and tingling like she had touched an electric current. She attributed the exhilarating feeling to the fact that she couldn't believe Sesshoumaru actually had a personality.

When Sesshoumaru wasn't being…well, _Sesshoumaru,_ he was a really fun guy. Whenever a grin escaped, however mocking or sarcastic it would be, the tension in his eyes would leave and he would seem all that more approachable and less distant. Kagome would forget that they had roles to fill, that he was her teacher and she his pupil. In that tiny room filled with hushed chuckles and giggles, he was just a boy, only five years older, and she a girl.

Kagome continued to examine him, lost in thought. Sesshoumaru seemed to sense her hard stare, or perhaps he had never been too engrossed in his book as he appeared to be, because quickly he looked up. Their eyes locked for one second too many.

"Yes…?" he asked, and he suddenly looked so young he could've passed for one of the senior students.

If Kagome squinted, he could even look like Inuyasha.

"You know…" she spoke up, realizing it would be odd if she continued to stare without saying anything. "I always thought you were a bastard with a stick up your-"

"Excuse me?"

"-but you're actually a pretty cool guy to hang out with."

"Oh." Sesshoumaru blinked slowly, silent for a moment. "Thank you?" he said at last, although he did not seem too thrilled.

Kagome smiled, finding the confusion endearing. "I meant it as a compliment."

"Hn. Please warn me next time you intend to compliment me, or I might take offense." He said, sniffing at her again in a manner Kagome was sure was meant to annoy her. It worked every time.

"Seriously, though! How come I never noticed before now? I mean, with how much I hung out with Inuyasha at your house, and everything."

Kagome had spent many a childhood day in the Taisho household. Mr. and Mrs. Taisho had always enjoyed hosting the little twin girls in their home, and often invited them for playdates in the vain hope that their sweet and gentle manners would rub off on their gruff and unruly sons. But after the Taisho's tragic death when Inuyasha was only twelve, she and her sister spent less time there. They needed their space to grieve, Mama Higurashi had told the twins. Kagome never understood that, thinking that during loss is when you need people that care about you the most. The little girls had respected their mother's order and kept an appropriate distance, as much as they could stand anyways. Yet, even in the face of such trying times, the group of kids had remained quite close, if not closer.

All except for Sesshoumaru.

The man had always been an enigma to her, and she didn't understand why he had intimidated her so much as a child. Now that she thought aout it, perhaps her feelings had been marred by Inuyasha's constant complaining about his 'strict older brother'. It was true that Sesshoumaru had been forced to grow up rather quickly so he could become the head of the household and raise his preteen slibling, and she now only realized how difficult that must've been for him. But why had she never extended the arm of friendship to him as well with the eagerness that she did for Inuyasha? Was it the age difference? Was Inuyasha's influence truly so great that she had completely snubbed this man with no reason? It wasn't like Sesshoumaru had ever been unkind to her.

Vaguely, Kagome recalled a distant childhood memory, too blurry and shredded to see clearly except in fragments of images and sounds. A broken toy in the carpet, hers. Inuyasha and Kikyo, apologizing behind giggles; then a shout, as they were reprimanded. And Sesshoumaru, brushing his hand through her hair, whispering soft comforting words...

Kagome blinked, and the memory dissipated, leaving only the man before her.

Sesshoumaru was staring at her through a fringe of white lashes, as he considered the pretty raven's question. He was silent for a moment, choosing his words carefully, and Kagome could almost see the letter tiles being put down judiciously like a high-stakes game of scrabble. After a while, he spoke, and Kagome thought he sounded far away.

"Perhaps…"he said slowly," your mind was too focused elsewhere... to notice that which was right in front of you."

The silence after that statement was deafening.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked, and belatedly, she noticed she was whispering.

Sesshoumaru closed the book, not bothering to mark where he had left off.

"I think…"he said instead. "…that is enough grading for today." He stood up, the rolling chair swiveling behind him softly at the action. Kagome nodded, mouth full of cotton, and busied herself with organizing the paperwork.

As they cleaned up their things in preparation to leave, Kagome felt the distance lengthen. She had said the wrong thing, or perhaps he had, and now they were both reluctantly stepping into their roles again, playing their characters once more in suits that were slowly becoming too tight for their bodies. She could feel the farce of it breaking apart at the stitches with each stolen glance and wetting of lips.

Kagome shook the mental mist away, filing the tests into a folder and stealing a glance at the man when he had his back turned towards her.

She made an effort to focus on what was in front of her, and tried not to think of the words beneath the words.


	4. Chapter 4

**Series:** Inuyasha

 **Universe:** Modern Highschool AU

 **Pairing:** Eventual SessKag

 **Rating:** PG-13

 **Disclaimer:** Inuyasha and its characters are the intellectual property of one Rumiko Takahashi. I only make bad fanfiction about it.

 **Author's notes:** Before anyone flings any hate towards me for this chapter...just remember that although a tinge OOC, this interpretation of our doy-boy Inuyasha is not too far off from canon, unfortunately. :/ Kagome always was his second-choice, I felt like (which is why I avidly write SessKag fics lol).

Also, to make up for all the drama going on, I was super nice and added an extra 2,000 words to this 1,000 word chapter. Thank you everyone for all of the amazing reviews so far. You have no idea how much they mean to me and help me push this story forward. Shout out to pgoodrichboggs and sllmidnight in particular, you guys always brighten up my day by reviewing all of my fics. This chapter is for you :)

* * *

 **Hentai High IV**

888

"I'm home!" Kagome called into the house; she knew her mother was there by the smell of food wafting through the living room, but it was background information as her mind was too occupied elsewhere. She flinched as the roar of a motorcycle vibrated behind the closed door, signaling the driver driving away from her porch and down the street, the sound fading into the distance until it was gone. Kagome rushed across the living room area and up the staircase of her small childhood home.

"Kagome! I made dinner, aren't you going to eat?" Mama Higurashi called after her, peeking through the kitchen doorway. Her daughter was already at the top, her figure a blur as she practically ran down the hallway to her room.

"No thanks, mom! I have homework, so I'll eat later!" Kagome shouted without looking back, and escaped into the privacy of her chambers with a slam of the door.

Mama Higurashi blinked at the closed room, momentarily taken aback by her daughter's strange behavior. Kagome never refused food. Not even when the girl had gotten sick with the flu and had thrown up everything that crossed her lips had she lost her appetite. What could have possibly possessed her to choose _schoolwork_ , of all things, over _food_?

The older woman smiled knowingly, tapping her chin thoughtfully with the kitchen spoon she had been using to stir the rice.

 _'Must be spring-time for Kagome.'_

Meanwhile, Kagome stood in her room, her back pressed against the closed door, heart slamming against her chest. She slid a few inches down, holding her slightly trembling frame against the wood for support.

She needed to get a grip on herself! This was totally an overreaction to a perfectly normal situation that happened to people everyday. Kagome wanted to attribute the aftershocks of adrenaline rushing through her body to her ridiculous fear of motorcycles. Yes, her body was just reacting to having been taught how to ride her very first motorcycle for the first time. It had _nothing_ to do with having her teacher pressed against her the entire time, creating the most _atrociously_ inappropriate thoughts she had ever dreamed of.

Covering her blush with her hands, Kagome slid the final inches down to the floor with a groan.

Truthfully, the raven hadn't known what had possibly possessed her to suggest the impromptu lesson to her teacher. Perhaps it had been boldness at their budding new friendship and as such trying to get closer to the man through shared interest. The girl also wanted to push away the tension that had been created in the classroom during their conversation, so playfully she had hopped on the motorcycle before him and begged him to teach her how to zip through the streets like he did. It had been an attempt to lighten the mood, and nothing else.

Kagome had expected the solemn man to flat out refuse her request. She had not, though, anticipated that he would accept.

And she had definitely not predicted that he would want to give her the lesson on the spot.

Kagome stared back at Sesshoumaru, not daring to believe her ears. "What?" she repeated again, as he casually strolled towards her sitting form on the metal machine.

"I said 'Al right'. I'll teach you how to ride, right now."

Kagome laughed high and quick, more from nerves than actual humor. "Ah, You don't really need to, Taisho-sensei. I don't want to be a bother. I mean, it's late and you probably want to go home-"

"It's not a bother at all, Higurashi." The man drawled, and Kagome had the distinct impression that he was teasing her, knew that she was trying to backpedal from her request but was not letting her get off that easily.

"Really, I was just joking, you don't have to-"

She had not time to mentally prepare herself when abruptly Sesshoumaru placed his hand on the handlebar of the bike, directly on top of hers, and straddled the mechanical contraption. The breath was knocked out of the raven as the man's hips slid down the seat and pressed suggestively against her bottom, his muscular thighs caging her own suddenly tensed legs until he was practically spooning her. He leaned forward, his bigger frame pushing against Kagome's back, and it was all Kagome could do but shudder as his hair ghosted over her neck.

"Here." He said, and his voice was unbearably close, lips a hair-breadth away from the shell of her ear. "I'll teach you." The sound of him whispering, a velvety smooth rumble like distant thunderstorms, curled against her eardrum and Kagome's hands tightened instinctively on the handlebars, the action muffled as her hands were trapped under his much larger ones. And God, they were so big and masculine, his long fingers weaving against her thinner ones, and Kagome watched transfixed as they curled and danced together, revving the gas.

Sesshoumaru was talking again, teaching her in murmured instructions how to make the machine come to life and move, but Kagome could not comprehend a single word. The raven struggled for coherency, but all the while she could only think about his barreled chest against her back, the view of his clothed biceps flexing under stretched leather, the heat of his pelvis against hers, the way his hair tickled her cheek as he moved behind her. The sensations assaulting her inexperienced body were overwhelming, and she could feel her skin heating up, the blush expanding from her cheeks all the way to her chest. Her heart hammered ruthlessly in her ribcage, and she wondered if he could hear it.

'Ah...', she thought distantly, as he leaned closer to point out something in the front and his lips grazed her ear. The touch had heat travelling all the way down to her lower stomach, and Kagome's muscles contracted. 'This…is bad.'

"Higurashi, are you all right?" Sesshoumaru suddenly spoke up, pausing in his explanation. He couldn't really see her face from his angle behind her, but he noted the curious red tint her cheek had taken.

"Eh, Taisho-sensei…"Kagome scrambled for an excuse, her blush becoming more prominent as she felt his watchful eyes on her. "On second thought maybe we should have this lesson another day. I'm…not feeling like myself right now."

Sesshoumaru frowned. His hand drew up instinctively and pressed against her forehead, the action a faint echo of the dozens of times he had done the same with Inuyasha when he was younger. It was sweet and familiar, but Kagome flinched at the caress. "You do feel warm…"he commented under his breath, cool fingers pressing against her hot cheeks next. He thought he heard Kagome groan, and his hand pulled away, concerned. He hadn't noticed any symptoms when they were in the classroom, but fevers had a way of spontaneously manifesting. And it was flu season, after all.

"Let's get you home. The lesson can wait another day." He decided, gently taking her hands and pushing them away from the handlebars. Kagome thanked whatever God had taken mercy on her and decided to end the session before her head combusted in flames from blushing so much. Any more unsolicited temptation and she didn't know what she was capable of doing to her poor unsuspecting teacher.

Kagome nodded in agreement and began to move, in order to hop out of the motorbike and sit behind Sesshoumaru as usual, but realized he was still holding on to the handles, his arms effectively trapping her. As she was opening her mouth to excuse herself, he revved, and the motorcycle shot down the parking lot and into the streets.

Granted, Sesshoumaru wasn't going as fast as he usually did, probably out of concern for her well-being, but Kagome still panicked. Her hands fluttered spastically, trying to find somewhere secure to hold and keep her steady, until finally finding purchase in his legs. Small hands grasped onto flexed muscle, and annoyingly she noted how deliciously toned his thigh was. Kagome sighed inwardly, and strained not to let her hormones take over. A difficult feat when she was hyper-aware of the heat of the man behind her, burning into her back and sending delightful tendrils of warmth throughout her entire body, nerve-ends buzzing. The fact that she could not grind back into the pelvis that lay flush against her bottom was almost physical torture.

When did her thoughts for Sesshoumaru turn from platonic to... _this?_

All too soon they arrived at her front porch, although it was probably for the best that the ride went by so quickly because Kagome did not know how much more she could endure it. Sesshoumaru parked the motorcycle and leaned back, but did not move. His hand dropped from the handle and touched her arm gently. "Do you need help getting off?"

Kagome shook her head, not trusting her voice, plaintively ignoring the double-entendre in that sentence. She jumped off the motorcycle on trembling legs, and before Sesshoumaru could ask her anything else, turned on her heel and ran up the steps.

"Thank you for the ride, Taisho-sensei, see you Monday!" she waved over her shoulder.

Sesshoumaru watched her duck and disappear inside the house with raised eyebrows. She seemed to be feeling better, or more energetic, at least. Heaving a light sigh, Sesshoumaru donned the helmet, pushed off the ground and zipped down the street in direction to his home a few blocks away.

The phantom warmth of her nubile body still radiated on his chest, imprinted on his skin, and through the visor he could smell the scent of her shampoo that still clung to his clothes.

As soon as he got home, he decided, he would take a long, cold shower.

Back in her room, Kagome was finally managing to get her blush under control. Paranoid, she wondered if Sesshoumaru had caught on to her strange, unexplainable behavior. God, she hoped not, or that was going to make their relationship that much more awkward. No, what she really needed to do was stop being such a horny schoolgirl. After all, Kagome was interested in the man's _brother_ , not him.

And speaking of siblings, she thought as she noted Kikyo's empty bed. Her twin had yet to arrive home and it was starting to get very dark. Kagome got up from the floor, dragging her backpack behind her, and sat on the edge of her bed. She rummaged through her backpack until she found her phone and, turning it on, flopped back onto the mattress and scrolled through her contacts. She found her sister, and typed a message.

' _Out from detention. Where u at?_ ' Kagome texted her twin.

A few seconds passed by, and then her cellphone chimed, announcing a notification. Kagome opened the message, then the attachment in the reply, and saw it was a picture.

Kikyo was framed in the foreground, smiling, amusement clear on her beautiful face. And in the background Kagome recognized the proud figure of Inuyasha on a stage, mike in one hand and arm over the shoulders of another student from their class, a ponytailed boy with blue eyes and pierced ears. They seemed to be screaming at a screen, and Kagome laughed, grasping they were at her favorite karaoke bar.

Her smile faded though, as she focused on Inuyasha, her fingers caressing his picture thoughtfully. She wondered when he would talk to her again, and if he was still mad at her for mentioning Kikyo on the whole midterm-fiasco. Her twin probably hadn't noticed yet that her two best friends were currently avoiding each other, and that was probably for the best. Kikyo had good intentions but the incredibly annoying habit of butting in and making things worse, while still somehow remaining free of fault.

Kagome threw her phone to the side with a sigh. She was tired. The past few days had been exhausting on an emotional level, and all she wanted was to close her eyes and forget the world for a bit. She didn't want to think about Inuyasha ignoring her, or her sister spending so much time with him. Childishly, the raven refused to face the turmoil of emotions running rampant in her heart, and instead decided to take a nap. Kagome hugged the pillow to her face and closed her eyes until darkness consumed her.

And in her dreams, she dreamt of hair as soft as silk and the smell of thunderstorms and gasoline.

* * *

"I saw you ride off with my brother on his bike last Friday."

Kagome jumped at the familiar gruff voice, and turned away from her locker into her favorite pair of yellow eyes.

Except now that she looked closely Inuyasha's eyes were darker - almost amber in color - not really yellow. They were dull and lacked the bright electric hue of Sesshoumaru's own eyes, whose yellow orbs seemed to be able to see right through her and into her very core. Inuyasha's eyes were too wide, too open and youthful, lacking the sage patience of his brother's more angular stare, and Kagome wondered when she had started favoring Sesshoumaru's eyes over Inuyasha's.

Speaking of the younger brother, Inuyasha was not looking happy at all.

Kagome huffed and turned back to her locker, looking for the textbook to her next class. "So you're finally talking to me?" Kagome bit back, acid dripping from her tone. Admittedly, she was elated that Inuyasha was paying attention to her again. But contrary to what one might assume from her past attitudes, Kagome did have some self-respect. Plus, she was still unbelievably upset that Inuyasha had been ignoring her in the first place.

In true Inuyasha fashion, the boy remained stubbornly focused on his agenda. He frowned at Kagome, and skipped over her question with one of his own. "What the hell, Kags? When did the two of you become so _buddy-buddy_?"

"And what the hell do you care, Inuyasha? You're blowing me off and hanging out with Kikyo anyways –"

"This isn't about Kikyo." Inuyasha snarled defensively, and Kagome felt the sting of hurt once more at his protectiveness over her twin sister. But instead of withering as she usually did, the raven bristled. She had been hoping for this fight, praying for it really. She had rehearsed it in her mind a million times, and now she would finally get to confront him about it with every line she had practiced in her head.

"Yeah. You're right. It's _not_ about my sister. It's about _you_ acting like a total jackass and ghosting me. Me, your _best friend_ since diapers, 'Yasha. And you don't even say hello to me anymore when you pass me on the hallways to class! How the hell do you think that makes me feel? Do you even care?" Kagome said, struggling to keep her voice low and unwavering. Other students were starting to notice their hushed discussion, and Kagome tried to pay no attention to their stares.

"I'm not ignoring you, Kagome." Inuyasha replied, his anger deflating and turning him into the caring childhood friend of her memory. But his mouth was set in a grim line, and Kagome noticed he didn't answer any of her questions. "I'm just worried about you, that's all."

Kagome snorted and shoved the book into her backpack with more force than necessary. "You have a funny way of showing it." She grumbled. "I didn't know pretending your best friend doesn't exist was how you expressed love and concern."

"Don't be like that, Kagome." He plead, trying to reason with her, as the Inuyasha in her imagination often did during his argument. "As things are right now, I might be your only friend left in this school."

That threw the young raven for a loop.

Pretending to put away another notebook in her bag, Kagome scrambled to improvise and get back to her well-rehearsed script. "I don't know how pathetic you think I am, but I have plenty of friends here, thank you very much. I don't need your worry _or_ your pity."

"Yeah well, at least take my _advice_." He ground out, growing impatient with her obstinate temper. Didn't she realize he was trying to help her?

"And pray tell, advice about _what_?" Kagome snapped back, equally annoyed.

"About you hanging out with my stupid-ass brother so much." Inuyasha cast a quick glance around, checking to see if there were any eavesdroppers, and Kagome had the sudden sinking feeling that Inuyasha was hiding something from her.

"What do you mean, Inuyasha?" Kagome muttered, looking around as well, getting caught up in his paranoia.

Inuyasha sighed, brushing a brusque hand across his hair, pushing his bangs back. They fell back into place, the same fluffy mess regardless of how much he tried to tame it. Lowering his voice, he looked at her with concern shining bright in his amber eyes and leaned forward to avoid anyone listening in.

"People are talking, Kagome."

The sentence was ominous and Kagome tried to decipher its meaning, coming up blank. When he didn't elaborate, Kagome raised her eyebrows expectantly, urging him to continue. Immediately, as if realizing he was actually saying it, Inuyasha became uncomfortable and looked away from her blue eyes at his next words.

"They think you're _sleeping_ with the bastard."

" _What?!_ " Kagome screeched, and several students paused and looked over at the sound. Kagome was too outraged to even care anymore.

"Shhhh!" Inuyasha hissed, gesturing with his hands. He tried to put his arm around her shoulder to calm her but she shrugged it off, furious.

"What did you say?" she growled, and she was no longer bothering to keep her voice down. People were definitely staring now, but their open curiosity and eager faces revealed that they already knew what the confrontation was about. Whispers were passed around, and more and more students started surrounding them. How could Kagome have been so blind? Did she really not realize what was going on around her?

Inuyasha crossed his arms, giving up any pretense of privacy and openly scowling at her. "You heard me. Dammit, Kagome, what do you expect? Riding off every weekend on the back of his motorcycle, of course people would talk!"

"He's being _nice!_ It's not like _you_ are waiting around on Fridays to walk me home!"

"Nice?" Inuyasha scoffed, and Kagome flinched as he laughed at her, his eyebrows down, his smile sardonic. "He's still a dude, Kagome! No dude does anything for a girl to be 'nice'."

"You helped me steal those test answers." Kagome whispered, dangerously low. "Does that mean you were trying to get into _my_ pants?"

"Not _yours!"_ Inuyasha snapped, then clapped a hand over his mouth as he caught himself in his misstep. Kagome gaped in disbelief at his unexpected confession. She didn't need to be a mind-reader to know whose pants he was interested in.

Inuyasha scratched the back of his head, aggravated, and took a deep calming breath. "Not anybody's." he amended with raised palms. He had the decency to at least look embarrassed. "Like you said, we're friends so that's totally different. I was helping you and your sister out of the goodness of my heart. But Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha shook his head, gritting his teeth. "That bastard is completely heartless, you know that."

Did she though? All the bad things she had ever heard about Sesshoumaru had come from Inuyasha's mouth, which she of course had taken as Gospel. But a few weekends in his presence had clued her in to the fact that, while certainly strict and a it too solemn for a man his age, Sesshoumaru was pretty chill. Inuyasha was still talking, and Kagome struggled to listen.

"...and as for this, I don't like you getting mixed up in a scandal. I hate what people are saying about you."

Kagome burned to ask what exactly people _were_ saying, but instead she asked the questions that nudged at her the most. "But you know it's not true, don't you? Who cares what people say about me. _I_ don't. Besides, as long as _you_ don't believe it, nothing else matters to me." Kagome searched Inuyasha's face, finding nothing but doubt. Her hopes and reassurances dissipated as he continued to avert his eyes. "You…don't believe those rumors…right, 'Yasha?"

Inuyasha opened his mouth then closed it, hesitating, and Kagome felt her heart shatter.

"And you call yourself my friend." She whispered, more hurt than she was angry, and she was pretty fucking angry.

Kagome slammed the door to her locker, and walked away. The jeers and calls from the audience followed her all the way down the hallway, and she was practically running to escape them.

Inuyasha didn't run after her. He didn't tell the people flinging ugly words at her to shut up either.

She didn't know if that crushed her heart more or less than it already was.

* * *

AN: Anybody remember how tedious and exhausting high-school drama was? I sure do.

As always, leave a comment if you like how this is going!


	5. Chapter 5

**Series:** Inuyasha

 **Universe:** Modern Highschool AU

 **Pairing:** Eventual SessKag

 **Rating:** PG-13

 **Disclaimer:** Inuyasha and its characters are the intellectual property of one Rumiko Takahashi. I only make bad fanfiction about it.

 **Author's notes:** Bring on the angst! Also, a familiar face appears!:)

* * *

 **Hentai High V**

888

"Kagome? Are you planning on skipping lunch again today?"

Kagome looked away from the classroom window and up into the concerned brown eyes of the girl addressing her. "Hey, Sango, what's up?" Kagome greeted feebly.

Sango Taijiya was in a different homeroom class from Kagome, didn't take any classes with her and admittedly the girls would have never been friends had they not met under the circumstances they did. Kagome was a goody-two-shoes bookworm but, perhaps due to her connection with the easily-liked Kikyo, hung out with the popular crowd. Sango was a jock of all jocks, dedicated 100% to the basketball team and helping out with her father's job as a pest exterminator after school. They inhabited two completely different social circles. Plus, both of those very masculine past-times had made Sango the subject of ridicule among her peers; and there were even cruel rumors that Sango "played for the other team" (something that still baffled Kagome, seeing as this was the 21st century and such things shouldn't even matter anymore).

But their two very separate paths had crossed when one day Kagome happened to walk in on Sango being bullied. Now, this wasn't unusual, as the girl was usually being teased by other students, but Kagome noticed that the boys surrounding the tall brunette were shoving and pushing her. Alarm bells went off in Kagome's head and – impulsively, as she was oft to do - the raven ran up to the rowdy group and told them off, threatening to call the teachers and having their asses suspended.

Admittedly, Kagome wasn't as popular or well-liked as her twin, but the association was enough to make the boys stand down and walk away. Sango was no wilting flower and could have easily defended herself from the bullies, like the dozens of times she had done so in the past; but this was the first time someone had actually stood up for her. That had cemented a rare if odd friendship between the two, and although mostly they just waved at each other in the hallways due to their differing schedules, they would sometimes meet during lunch. It wasn't often, seeing as Sango ate with her basketball team and Kagome with Kikyo and Inuyasha but lately…well…things had really changed.

The tall brunette stood a few paces away from Kagome's chair, unsure of how to approach. "Kikyo asked for you again. She said you had been hiding up here in the classroom all week, instead of going to the cafeteria." Sango pursed her lips, noting the pale parlor to the raven's already fair skin. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm just not hungry." Kagome lied, actively avoiding her classmate's searching gaze. Kagome's stomach clamped down on nothing, refuting what she had just said, but the girl chose to ignore it.

Loss of appetite was the least of Kagome's problems. This had been the longest week of the young woman's life. The raven hadn't even made an effort to be subtle in evading Inuyasha and Kikyo, going as far as pretending to be asleep in class just to escape her sister's curious and troubled gazes, and going straight to bed as soon as she got home to avoid talking about it. And it took conscious effort to ignore the snide remarks that the students sent her way in the hallways and during classes. Just as Inuyasha had predicted, all of her supposed friends had abandoned her, choosing to keep their distance from the girl. Rei, Ayumi, Keiko – suddenly, they were all too busy to spend time with her, and conveniently had other things to do whenever Kagome walked up to them.

The only one who had remained had been Sango, the tall, burly girl with the sweet brown eyes. The girl Kagome had never really considered more than a friendly classmate. And yet there she was, concerned for her well-being when her other friends were nowhere to be found.

 _'Perhaps…',_ Sesshoumaru's voice echoed in her mind, _'your mind was too focused elsewhere... to notice that which was right in front of you.'_

It seemed there were a lot of things Kagome had been blind to lately.

"You know, if there's anything worrying you… I'm here." Sango spoke up shyly. The brunette had grown up with a father, uncle and younger brother – basically an all-male household - and as such, displays of affection were hard for her. Kagome could tell by how awkward she looked that this was coompletely out of her comfort zone, but she was trying her best. Kagome appreciated the effort and smiled wanly at the girl.

"Thank you Sango…you see-" she started, and then stopped when a group of female students passed through the door. They paused in their stroll mid-conversation, and looked at Kagome and Sango with amusement. One of them laughed, then said in a stage whisper to her friends, "I guess sleeping with one person wasn't enough; the slut has to go for the dyke as well!"

They walked away whispering amongst themselves in a rush of giggles and gestures. Kagome scowled at them darkly. She didn't care that they were talking about her, but she didn't want to get Sango involved in her troubles too. And to succumb to such horrid name-calling was just ignorant, and Kagome bubbled over with fury-

"What the hell was that?" Sango growled, and Kagome started at the girl's hostile tone. Sango was normally a serious girl in nature, but Kagome had never seen her flat-out upset (unless she was losing on the court).

Kagome stared levelly at her angry classmate, assessing if she was being honest or not. "You mean you haven't heard the rumors?" Kagome asked, her voice holding no inflection.

Sango shook her head, her tight ponytail swishing behind her. Kagome often thought that the sharp planes of her face would be softened if Sango were to let her hair down, and frequently fantasized about giving her a makeover. But she knew the girl did not care for such vain things and so never offered. "I don't listen to petty gossip." Sango clarified, and Kagome nodded, understanding. After all, Sango was usually the main target for it. She wondered, then, how she would react if Kagome told her. The raven put it to the test.

"They say I'm sleeping with Taisho-sensei." Kagome informed flatly, not beating around the bush.

Sango stared back, unflinching, her expression betraying no thought or emotion.

"All right." She said at last. "So are you going to eat today or what?"

"Aren't you going to ask me if I am?" Kagome asked, surprised at Sango's flippant reaction.

Sango snorted, the action unlady-like; Kikyo would never be caught doing that. The brunette waved her hand, as if brushing an annoying fly away. "I've learned that rumors are rarely, if ever, true. And I also know you well enough to say you aren't that kind of person. But…" Sango said, a look of pure understanding settling across her features, making her look more like an older sister than a peer of her age, "… even if you were, it's not my place to judge or condemn you. It's also none of my business unless you tell me yourself. Friends don't keep secrets from each other, and if you wanted to share it with me I know you would, Kagome. Not that we're friends, of course." she added hastily, blushing in embarrassment at her presumption.

Sango laughed shyly then, a rare but beautiful expression on her young face. "Kagome...You're an open book and the most honest person I know. That's what I like about you best. So I don't care what other people say."

Kagome didn't know how to respond to that. Tears, hot and thick, burned the back of her eyes at her classmate's words. Kagome had received more support from this girl, whom she barely ever spent any time with, than her immediate "friends".

She had even been more understanding than Inuyasha.

"Thank you, Sango." Kagome said thickly, swallowing back the knot in her throat. The raven's eyes traveled to look outside the window again, wanting to hide the tears from the burly brunette. "I'm really not hungry and I just want to be by myself for a bit, if that's all right."

Sango didn't reply quickly, but after a beat, Kagome felt a hand squeeze her shoulder meaningfully. "Okay, Kagome. I'll be in the cafeteria if you need me."

She was almost at the door when Kagome called out to her. "Sango?"

The basketball player turned, her movements graceful despite her brawny physique. Kagome smiled at her, the expression small but genuine.

"I'm not, you know." Kagome said softly. At Sango's puzzled expression, Kagome smiled wider. "Sleeping with him that is." The raven clarified. "But if I were, you would be the first person to know. _Friends_ don't keep secrets, after all."

Sango grinned broadly, recognizing her own words being parroted back to her, and nodded. "Al right. Have a nice weekend, Kagome. See you Monday."

"Actually, Sango, are you busy tomorrow?" Kagome heard herself ask, suddenly overcome with the desire to get to know this quiet girl even more. Sango looked surprised at the question, her cheeks speckled with pink. "Umm, I got basketball practice in the morning but I'm free in the afternoon. Why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out at the mall." Kagome continued, not quite sure herself what possessed her to ask this. "I've been meaning to buy new sneakers for gym class and thought you would know best." Kagome patted herself on the back at her own genius. Sango might be more open to a girly activity like shopping if it were disguised with some sort of athletic element.

Sango nodded, shrugging. "That sounds cool." She said, trying hard to appear casual and not overly excited, but the brightness in her brown eyes gave her away. Kagome wondered if Sango got asked out often, and with a pang of sadness surmised she didn't. Kagome would have to change that.

"Okay! Then it's a date. See you tomorrow at the mall entrance, say one-o-clock?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah! I mean, yes, okay, cool. See you then." The brunette waved goodbye to the raven, and walked away. This time, Kagome noted a bit of a bounce in her step.

Kagome chuckled, her mood a bit lighter. It wasn't long though before melancholy took over once more, as her eyes strayed to the window and outside. Instinctively, her eyes searched for a familiar white head. Her eyes were always looking for Inuyasha...

Absently, her hand clutched her empty stomach, although despite the hunger pangs, it was her chest that hurt.

Kagome was glad that she had begun a new friendship, but she desperately wished to talk to Inuyasha. He was crude and brash and had no tact, but despite all of this Kagome could always be herself, unapologetically, with the boy. Whenever something was bugging her, it was he who she told her worries to. Kagome didn't realize how difficult it would be to not speak to him, how hard it was to throw years of friendship like that down the drain and pretend it had never existed. But that was literally what she had been doing all week, and it was killing her on the inside. She wondered if Inuyasha felt the same way.

Should she apologize? Was she so prideful that she was unwilling to forgive him for something so trivial?

Questions buzzed around Kagome's head like angry wasps, but there were no forthcoming answers.

 _'I'm just worried about you, that's all, Kagome.'_

Kagome sighed.

All she had left to do was get through the rest of the school period, detention, and then finally head home. She was ready for this week to be over.

* * *

"You're quiet today."

Kagome looked up from the essay with eyes that were glazed over with unshed tears.

She had been trying to decipher the review paper for the past 15 minutes, but no matter how many times she read the first paragraph, she could not make heads or tails of it. Instead, last Monday's argument with Inuyasha kept tumbling around in her head over and over, replaying like a demonic recorder in her memory and plunging her into despair. She didn't dare blink, ashamed at the emotion, sure that her eyes were red with the effort of not crying. Sesshoumaru surely noticed, but with more tact than she had thought possible in the man, he didn't address it. His unspoken kindness made her even more emotional, and Kagome looked back at the paper as she felt a lone drop threatening to spill over.

"I'm fine." The girl mumbled, and she watched detached as a round, wet drop appeared on the paper before her. But that was it. One tear. She would only allow one tear.

Sesshoumaru remained in pensive silence, the book he was reading resting face down and open on his knee. He stroked the back thoughtfully as he watched the frail woman-child before him fight her emotions. Truthfully, he wanted to ask what was going on, but knew she was still not ready to open up to him. Kagome was easy for the older man to read, so he could always tell what her moods were; yet he could never quite predict what her reactions would be. His fascination was one born of curiosity and, if he admitted it to himself, a little bit of jealousy. In his own life, he was a spectator to whom things happened to. Kagome, on the other hand, was a girl who made things happen. She was the author to her own book, adventurous and romantic and, yes, sometimes foolish. He attributed that last one to her youth though, and he remembered how a wise man said that one had much to learn from the wisdom of fools. So he often sat back and watched her from afar, and marveled at her actions.

But today he did not feel like sitting on the sidelines; he did not wish to be a spectator anymore.

"Let's go home." He announced, getting up slowly and placing the book gently on the table. Kagome nodded mutely, and if she rubbed the tears off her eyes with the sleeve of her shoulder, Sesshoumaru pretended not to notice.

They walked in heavy silence, Kagome's feet moving her in the direction of the teacher's parking lot on autopilot. The white-haired teacher smiled despite himself, feeling honored that even with her peculiar mood, she was still willing to spend more time with him, instead of walking to her home alone. He noticed the worrisome speed in which his reliance on the girl grew, how even such a simple thing as walking together down the halls could elate him so. Sesshoumaru attributed the greedy possessiveness to the fact that he was slowly becoming used to her presence in his life, like a pet or a favorite TV show, and left it at that, not wanting to analyze his intentions any deeper. One could have amiable feelings towards someone of the opposite sex without it meaning anything, after all. He opened the door for her and they both stepped into the parking lot.

Once outside, after reaching Sesshoumaru's usual parking space, Kagome finally stopped, her brain processing what she saw before her rather slowly. She watched as her teacher walked towards a charcoal grey sports car she had never seen before.

"You don't have your bike today?" she asked, her tongue heavy with cotton. She swallowed, trying to ease the knot in her throat. The cool breeze was helping in clearing her thoughts, lifting her spirits. Although it was a bit chilly, she noted, hugging herself. She had left her jacket in her locker.

"The news said it would rain during the evening. I didn't fancy getting wet on my way home. Neither would you, I would think."

Kagome didn't answer that. Instead, she looked back at the school. In the distance, she could hear the basketball team practicing inside the court. Was Sango playing today, practicing her shots? Could she be able to see her and Sesshoumaru, two lone suspicious figures alone in a parking lot? Could her teammates? What would they think? What if-

"Higurashi?" The raven turned back to look into concerned yellow eyes. And through the mist of misery, white hot guilt stabbed its way through. If they were saying these things about her…what were they saying about Sesshoumaru then?

"Are you getting in?" he asked slowly, the way one might ask a wild and injured animal about to flee. Kagome pursed her lips. She didn't know what Inuyasha was on about, but his brother had more compassion in one pinky finger than Inuyasha did in his entire body.

And yet Kagome could not bring herself to hate the boy.

What a joke.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and all too quickly the sky became dark and cloudy. From here, she heard the gleeful shrieks of students reacting to the storm. Any minute they could come out, and find the two of them here. And then what? Kagome shook her head. She didn't care if she got wet. But she couldn't continue to put this thoughtful man into such a compromising position. If he were to lose his job because of these ridiculous rumors, Kagome would never forgive herself.

"Higurashi?" Sesshoumaru tried again, and this time he closed the door to the driver's seat and started making his way to the girl.

Kagome opened her mouth as he neared her, about to refuse his offer with some lame excuse-

-when her stomach let out a blood-curdling sound.

Kagome's eyes widened exponentially, the color rising to her cheeks. She had hoped Sesshoumaru would've been too far away to hear it too, but his raised eyebrows and equally surprised expression let her know he had heard loud and clear. As if to confirm that it had indeed been her stomach, the organ let out another low sound, very much like a groan, and Kagome thought she might die of embarrassment.

Sesshoumaru let out a loud bark of laughter, and Kagome jumped at the unexpected sound. Kagome stared openly as the man placed a hand over his mouth, attempting to calm his laughter. She had actually never heard him laugh before, and it was loud and hearty and full of life.

She wanted to hear more of it.

"Come, I'll treat you to dinner. Any more gurgling, and your stomach will begin eating itself." Sesshoumaru said between chuckles. He grabbed her by the shoulders and steered her towards the passenger side of the car, still chuckling to himself. Kagome was too equal parts mortified and mesmerized to put up a fight, and allowed him to deposit her into the chair next to him without so much as a word of complaint. Sesshoumaru smoothly made his way around the driver's seat as another clap of thunder resonated, and soon the two were driving off from the parking lot.

KAs they drove away, Kagome looked back towards the school buildings, the back of her neck prickling. She thought she saw a girl standing out near the court, looking out at them.

Kagome blinked, the figure disappearing into the building once more, and wondered why she had thought she looked so much like Kikyo.

* * *

AN: Confession time! This may come as a shock to some (or perhaps not), but I never actually plan my fics. It's a bad habit, and not something I'm proud of, but I feel less stressed when I just write what's on my mind and allow the characters to take a life of their own. Often what I think the fic will be turns completely into something else. This hurts me in terms of continuation but I feel it gives a more genuine and rhythmic result in the end. Does that make sense? Do you guys agree? R&R as always, thank you!


	6. Chapter 6

**Series:** Inuyasha

 **Universe:** Modern Highschool AU

 **Pairing:** Eventual SessKag, Onesided KagInu

 **Rating:** PG-13 ( For now, susceptible to change).

 **Disclaimer:** Inuyasha and its characters are the intellectual property of one Rumiko Takahashi. I only make bad fanfiction about it.

 **Author's notes:** The one where Sesshoumaru is kind of a jealous jerk. Also, little cameo (of sorts)! Can you spot it?

 **REVIEWS Q &A:** Thank you so so much for all of the people who have left reviews! I read each and every one of them, and take into consideration all of the critiques given, positive and negative! It really helps me understand how readers outside of myself are experiencing the story, and if I'm getting it across properly, so thank you!

That been said, I noticed some comments and questions that I would like to address here for general knowledge!

 ** _\- Calling Kagome "the raven" doesn't really make sense. A raven is a bird. Why not just use "Kagome", like you do for Sesshoumaru?_**  
Good Question! With a fairly simple answer. The reason I am partial to using "raven" as an epithet is because I have seen in it used in published literature interchangeably to describe someone of dark hair, the same way "brunette" is used to describe someone of brown hair, or "ginger" someone of red hair. Falling back on Kagome or Sesshoumaru all the time feels repetitive and I like to keep my stories rhythmic, so often you'll see me refer to them as girl, woman, student, teacher, man, brother, and yes, even raven.

 ** _\- When will Kikyo show up and what will her role be in all of this? Will she be a supportive kind sister or a villain?_**  
I get asked this one a lot. Originally, Kikyo was merely a character who was only to be named but not be "active". This story started out as a one-shot drabble in my "Teacher (With Benefits)" collection fic, but later took a life of its own. That been said, I had no particular plans for her character. So we shall see what sort of shape her personality and intentions will take as the story progresses. I'm just as much a spectator as you guys at this point. She won't be a full-out villain (I hate how the poor girl is always vilified in fics) but she will certainly be an obstacle of sorts in Kagome's and Sesshoumaru's relationship.

 _ **\- Will the set of Higurashi twins hook up with the set of Taisho brothers?**_  
Getting mixed reviews on this, some thinking it's hot, others thinking it'd be weird af (laughs). I guess you'll have to find out ;)

 _ **\- I love the sexual tension! But...where's the smut?!**_  
(laughs) Yes, for a story that has the word 'Hentai' in it, this is really lacking in the lemon department. But I'm the type of reader who enjoys seeing relationships build up naturally, and so it's reflected in my writing too. I worry constantly that perhaps I drag it on too long and annoy my readers :( But I want to make it seem as genuine and believable as possible. Relationships take time, even when there is chemistry. And if I can make the reader exist within that moment with the characters, live those feelings with them, then that makes me feel more accomplished than going straight to smut. It's not everybody's cup of tea, but I work really hard for it and I'm glad its appreciated ;-;

The other reason there is no smut yet is the answer to the next comment.

 _ **\- I don't agree with the student-pairing in this fic. Such a relationship between a minor and an adult is unethical, illegal and psychologically harmful to a minor.**_

This is a tricky critique. I am always very mindful of how I treat my teenage characters when approaching adult-situations. But there are some considerations to be taken. Kagome is 17 years old in this fic, and Sesshoumaru is 22. The age difference of merely 5 years is not so marked as to be deemed inappropriate in some cultures (I know in my country in Latinamerica, relationships between teachers and their senior high-school students are, not the norm of course, but certainly not surprising. I had several classmates dating teachers and teacher assistants actually. And everyone in the school was aware of it, both student and staff.) Unethical then is very subjective to each person's personal experience.

Their relationship is not illegal either, by any stretch. In Japan, the age of consent is actually 13, the lowest in any developed country. So while many might deem Sesshoumaru's behaviour towards his student as inappropriate, it is still within the law.

As for the last accusation, I do agree. There are many instances where figures of authority do take advantage of people they are responsible for, and I do _not_ condone that sort of behaviour at all. Which is why at all times I show Kagome as the one who is in control of her own body and reactions. Sesshoumaru as well is attracted to his pupil, but never blatantly makes an advance towards her in a way that is predatory or harmful. Sometimes attraction blooms in the most unlikely places, and while the age gap may seem large because of their roles, once Kagome graduates (which is pretty soon in this fic), it won't be as consequential.

What I'm trying to say here, yes there will be smut...but among consenting adults. And that's all I'm saying on the subject. If you are not comfortable though with the situations I am putting the main characters in, then you are more than welcome to stop reading and I thank you kindly for giving my fic a chance.

That been said, please enjoy!

* * *

 **Hentai High VI**

888

The car was warm, and she was close, too close.

Sesshoumaru's charcoal Hyundai sped across the town, both student and teacher sitting in absolute silence, the monotony broken only by the thunder outside and the car radio. Despite the lowered volume, Sesshoumaru heard the familiar lyrics of The Police's "Don't Stand So Close To Me", and he wondered if the gods were mocking him.

 _Temptation, frustration_  
 _So bad it makes him cry_  
 _Wet bus stop, she's waiting_  
 _His car is warm and dry-_

With unrivaled quickness, Sesshoumaru changed the station wordlessly, striving off the wave of guilt that washed over him. He dared to glance at his passenger, but she didn't seem to notice. Good.

Ironically, Sesshoumaru felt more uncomfortable with her beside him than he did with her on the back of his motorcycle. At least with her behind him he didn't have to see her; those glossy black locks that curled just so, the gentle rise and fall of her modest chest as she sighed, the long toned legs that lead up to a minuscule skirt-

He wondered, for the hundredth time, if this was a wise idea.

Sesshoumaru was overthinking this. He was only taking her out to eat something, after all. Nothing sinister or suspicious; and not a date, surely. Yes, Sesshoumaru argued to himself over the tantalizing lyrics of Warrant's "Cherry Pie", he was just performing his role as a teacher and taking care of his student. Besides, he had known her since she was a _child_ , had played with her tea time and cared for her in his own home, so what was the harm? No one would object to their completely _platonic_ relationship.

 _Except, Kagome was no longer a child,_ his mind reminded him slyly. She was almost a woman...

Sesshoumaru swallowed thickly, his throat suddenly dry.

He did not know when these thoughts had begun to develop, or when he had become acutely aware of her growth. Sesshoumaru had always been aware of her around his household of course, since she and her sister were always there with Inuyasha on an almost daily occurrence. He had thought her a sweet child, but nothing past that. The age gap had been enough to place her firmly into the position of "Little Brother's Friend", and for the most part he paid her no mind. Natural of course, since she was five years younger and their worlds were very different back then. His included comic books and girls and playing music with his band; hers included dolls and hide-and-seek and Inuyasha.

And when his parents passed away, leaving him to shoulder the heavy mantle of house patriarch, the distance grew even more. Nose stuck in his books as he struggled to pass high school, and then college, to be able to find a steady teaching job that would support both of them, he would pay even less attention to the young girl. The elegant youth would sometimes hear her voice through the plaster walls of his four-poster bedroom, laughing and singing and filling his house with the same feminine aura that had reigned during his life when his own mother had lived there. And he would secretly thank her for taking care of his brother when he was too busy having several part-time jobs to do it himself. It was safe to say that while mostly ambivalent to her presence, Sesshoumaru liked her, in the abstract way one does to people one sees in passing but doesn't really know in depth.

Those were the hardest years of Sesshoumaru's life, but it had all been well-worth it when he managed to pass his teacher's exam with flying colors, and even manage to land a job in the very same school his brother would attent. Perhaps, this way, he could get a chance to reconnect with the brother he had somehow lost along the way. And it was this way that Sesshoumaru was once more acquainted with the Higurashi twins. Namely, with Kagome, and he had been surprised to see her growth.

Ever since the pretty raven had entered his senior high-school class, he had been watching her, though not for the reasons one might assume. Mostly, at first, because he was embarrassingly aware of the feelings the girl harbored for his younger brother. You would have to be a fool not to distinguish the pining, and there was no greater fool than Inuyasha. This was proven by the fact that his idiot brother had yet to notice the girl's attentions. The fool had been too focused on Kagome's indifferent sister Kikyo to even fathom that one twin actually harbored genuine feelings for him. Perhaps it had been sympathy at Kagome's unwise attempts to woo his brother that had first planted softer thoughts into Sesshoumaru's mind whenever the girl was concerned.

Like a witness to a brutal crime, he watched as Kagome valiantly yet futilely tried time and again to earn Inuyasha's favor. It had brought the school teacher amusement to watch the interactions, then pity at her failures, and then…something else. Later, he would find himself observing her, even when Inuyasha was not there. He came to learn of her compassion for other misfits, and her sweetness and patience, of the way she rolled her eyes before she laughed, or cracked her spine by pulling the hair at the nape of her neck, how she loved awful puns, and the million little things that made up one Kagome Higurashi.

Before he knew it, she was all that occupied his thoughts.

That been said, Sesshoumaru had not planned for her detention to be with him. Most would have urged him to take pleasure in such an advantageous situation, yet he had fought for the job to be handed out to another teacher. However _fond_ Sesshoumaru was of Kagome (and it was _only_ fondness, really), he did not wish to court temptation with one of his students and the best friend (and secret admirer) of his younger brother. But as luck would have it, the principal had thought it best that, as Kagome's homeroom teacher and someone of her confidence, Sesshoumaru should be the one to supervise her detention hours.

That been said, the young teacher had put some generous effort into maintaining a respectable distance between the two. Sesshoumaru had tried, in vain, to stay away on those first Fridays. He would dump his work on her desk then swiftly flee to his office where he would sleep or read or try to think about anything but _her_ sitting just a few rooms away, until it was time to leave.

Sesshoumaru refused to believe that he was running away from a little girl, but in essence, he was. Or at the very least, running away from himself. Slowly, though, temptation grew too strong and he found himself checking up on her often, until finally settling in and 'reading books', barely speaking or prompting conversation but enjoying her presence all the same. It had all been going rather well, actually, or as well as can be expected from suppressing one's feelings.

And then he had let her ride his bike.

Worse yet, he had tried to _teach her_ how to ride it.

 _Foolish,_ he thought as he took a turn down a busy street, remembering the "lesson". It had been most imprudent to think that he could maintain all pretense of innocence while practically straddling her from behind under the perverse pretense of a tutorial. For nights, all that Sesshoumaru could think of were those delectable fingers discovering his chest, his back, the top of his thighs, and the memory of her shampoo - sweet and clean like summer rain - curled around his head many a sleepless hour until the sun broke the horizon, and he had realized he had fallen too far.

Sesshoumaru sighed. _The road to hell is paved with good intentions,_ he recited in his head as he parked on a curb next to a sushi bar. For now, he could keep this on a platonic level. He was a professional and an adult who was in charge of his desires and needs, and that did _not_ include wanting a 17-year-old girl. Especially one that was besotted with his little brother. The one need he _could_ satisfy at this moment was hunger (of the food kind), so he focused all of his energies on it as he pushed all other thoughts of pretty students away.

Sesshoumaru would often come to this sushi restaurant after work, it being his favorite place to eat out. It was cheap, fast, and relatively healthy, plus Sesshoumaru knew the owner. Sesshoumaru was a not a snob about food, but he was very picky with his sushi and the owner could do the best in town.

Kagome looked up at the flashing green neon sign that read "Kitsune Leaf", eyes scanning the giant images of sushi and maki roll options plastered on the glass, with cute little foxes drawn in and pointing at the great prices. It didn't look expensive, so Kagome didn't feel too bad freeloading from her teacher.

She didn't ask how Sesshoumaru knew she liked sushi.

They both got out and made their way to the door, hurrying as the first drops of rain began to fall. Once inside the establishment, a perky waitress with bright green eyes and dark hair tied back with a blue bow nodded at them. She was wearing a teal, leaf patterned shirt, with blue capris and a brown vest where she kept a notepad and pen. Kagome thought the petite waitress was way too young to be working. _But darn if she didn't look adorable_ , she thought with a smile as the girl grinned toothily at them.

"Hello Sesshoumaru-san! Nice to see you again!" the preteen waitress greeted bubbly. If she had a tail, it would be wagging.

Sesshoumaru nodded amiably at the preteen, getting the pleasantries out of the way as quickly as possible. "Same to you, Midori-chan. Where are your parents?" he asked, eyes scanning the small restaurant for the redhead owner and his wife.

The girl rolled her eyes theatrically, blowing her bangs out from her eyes. "Dad's sick at home if you can believe it!" she exclaimed. "The old man works himself to death, so serves him right! Mom's taking care of him, so it's just Uncle Hiten and me tonight." She leaned in conspiratorially, a wicked glint in her mischievous green eyes. "Although it's a perfect excuse for him to stay home painting. Driving mom up the wall with all those giant canvases lying around the house."

Sesshoumaru grinned, knowing full well his friend's affinity for art. "Shippo could make a pretty penny selling a couple of those off."

"And part with his babies? Never! He would rather hoard them in our house like some sort of fox god with his treasures." Midori huffed, annoyed at her father's quirks. Then she brightened again. "So a seat at the bar as usual-?"

"Actually, Midori-chan, a table this time would suffice."

The girl's green eyes widened, and then slid between Kagome and him, taking in the raven's uniform. If she thought something of it, she didn't say so though, her customer-service training kicking in. "Of course!" the preteen said. "One of the tables near the back opened up, so just follow me." She pirouetted on her heel, and walked down the rows of tables, the little baby ponytail bopping behind her. After a beat, Sesshoumaru walked after her and Kagome followed wordlessly.

She sat them at a corner table, with as much privacy as could be offered in such a small place. Midori gave Kagome a menu, then turned to Sesshoumaru and asked, "Same as always?"

Sesshoumaru nodded and turned to Kagome, who was done perusing the menu. Kagome recited her order to the perky girl: a bowl of miso soup, one plate of salmon sushi and one roll of shrimp maki.

"If you could bring some appetizers while we wait, please." He called after Midori, who signaled him a thumbs up as she rushed to the bar with the order.

Almost immediately, Midori was back with some dumplings and eggrolls, with edamame and seaweed on the side. Kagome's stomach growled loudly, and she looked up at Sesshoumaru, embarrassed. The man smiled again, charmed by her uncharacteristic shyness.

"Dig in." Sesshoumaru commanded lightly, gesturing towards the plates.

Kagome did so, meekly reaching for one of the dumplings. She took a tentative bite, and nearly moaned out loud. It was the softest, most savory dumpling she had ever eaten in her life. Light and fluffy and stuffed with mushrooms and meat and a little bit of soy curry, it was perfection in the palm of her hand. Kagome quickly grabbed a plate and put an eggroll and some edamame on it, biting into another piece of her dumpling. Sesshoumaru watched her enthusiasm, amused.

"If I remember correctly, you used to be quite the ravenous eater back when we were younger. " he said, recalling how many times he would have to serve second helping to her and Inuyasha whenever they came over to eat from school. "By the looks of it, that hasn't changed at all."

Realizing she had been gulping down her food rather unlady-like, Kagome coughed bashfully. "I didn't have lunch today." She explained, putting her plate down and attempting to eat at a slower pace.

"How come?" Sesshoumaru asked. The raven locked eyes with him; his eyes were regularly so bright and yellow and intense, but in the dimness of the restaurant, they were tinted darker. So like Inuyasha's…

 _"He's still a dude, Kagome! No dude does anything for a girl to be 'nice'."_

Kagome blushed and looked down at her plate of food. "I wasn't too hungry today, that's all." Sesshoumaru stared at her, seeming to size her up. Kagome wriggled in her seat. She hated when he did that; it always felt like he was scanning her, reading her as effortlessly as one would read a book, maneuvering through the uncomplicated maze that was her mind and discovering her secrets with ease. Some secrets she didn't want discovered though. _And especially not by him_ , she thought, her blush intensifying at all the impure thoughts he would find if he could really read minds.

Unknown to the young student as she fretted to herself, something dark and selfish curled around Sesshoumaru's chest. He was overcome by a sudden possessiveness, and even though Kagome hadn't come out and said it, he knew that her sour mood today had something to do with Inuyasha. Even now, as she averted her eyes, blush dusting her cheeks prettily, he would bet it was because of that mangy mutt.

It was always about Inuyasha, and Sesshoumaru didn't know whether to laugh or growl.

If Sesshoumaru had ever been told he would be competing with his little brother for the attention of a girl, he would have mocked the person mercilessly for their idiocy. Except Sesshoumaru felt no humor now, not an ounce of it as he was taken over by a foreign emotion that was making him see red. Sesshoumaru didn't know what moved him to steer the conversation in the following direction, but later in the night when he lay in his own bed recalling that evening's events, he would come to regret his decision. At the moment, his jealousy dominated his entire being and he let it influence him.

"You didn't give your lunch to Inuyasha again, did you?" he questioned her, and he was bewildered by the roughness in his own voice.

Kagome flinched at the name, and shook her head in negative. "No, I didn't. I just..." Then his words processed in her brain, and something seemed off. He had said 'again'…

Kagome looked up inquisitively. "How do you know I sometimes give my lunch to Inuyasha?"

The older man shrugged, an elegant lift and fall of his shoulders, belying the tension in his body. He was trying to seem relaxed, but Kagome noticed there was an edge in his eyes that wasn't there before. "Shot in the dark. I guessed you were the type of _misguided_ person who would feed my useless brother her own food just to keep him _happy_."

Kagome didn't like what he was implying. "Well, if you gave him money for lunch from time to time, I wouldn't have to." Kagome retorted, and even to her ears, it sounded like an unfair accusation. She knew Sesshoumaru took good care of his brother, as much as could be done. It was incredible to her that, despite her and Inuyasha currently having a spat, Kagome still defended the boy with a sword and shield.

Sesshoumaru didn't seem fazed by her tone. "Inuyasha always has lunch money." He replied blandly, and then, knowing he shouldn't, threw a verbal dagger. "If he spends it buying food for _others_ though, and pretending to have zero money for the benefit of kind but naïve little girls, then there is nothing I can do about that."

Kagome was about to argue and ask what the heck he was going on about, when she recalled something. Memories and moments flashed to the front of her memory at his words, clicked into place like a puzzle that she always had the pieces for but had refused to put together. Kikyo, sitting down with a sweet bun and ice-cream sandwich for lunch and Kagome asking her where she had gotten the money for it. Her twin smiling secretively. And Inuyasha, asking and pleading Kagome to share her food with him because he was out of cash.

For. Fuck's. Sake.

Kagome looked down, gritting her teeth. She mumbled something into her plate.

"What was that?" Sesshoumaru asked, watching her closely, dissecting her reactions as he saw reality dawning on her.

"I said, it's his money and he can spend it however he wants. I'm still his friend, so I'll still feed him."

There was a silence. And then Kagome heard Sesshoumaru snort. She looked up, and Sesshoumaru had a familiar sardonic smile on his face, the perfect clone to Inuyasha's mocking grin during their fight, and Kagome knew immediately where Inuyasha had learned it from.

"What's so funny?" the feisty raven demanded, inexplicably annoyed. Her hand reached for her water, drinking it to try and calm herself. Kagome appreciated the free meal and Sesshoumaru's concern. But with the way the conversation was going, she wanted to eat and leave soon before she did something she would regret.

Stupidly unaware of the fury bubbling inside the girl, Sesshoumaru smiled, except it looked nothing like a real smile. Kagome vaguely recalled something she had read once, about how chimps would bare their teeth when they were threatened or upset, and the action was often confused with a smile by humans. "I'm just impressed, is all." He said, shaking his head with that godawful grin.

"By what?" Kagome ground out, her hand grasping the glass of water tighter.

Sesshoumaru looked her dead in the eye then, and threw the final verbal jab.

"By the lengths you would go to be my brother's _doormat._ "

SPLASH.

Sesshoumaru blinked, perplexed as he suddenly found himself dripping wet. Before him, Kagome had stood up from her chair, empty water glass in hand, chest heaving up and down.

"Screw you, Sesshoumaru." She whispered venomously, and through the veil of water running through his lashes, Sesshoumaru thought he saw a lone tear fall down her flushed cheeks. "I'm done. With _both_ of you."

She got up, setting the glass down on the table with a hard thump. Kagome apologized to a flustered Midori, who had come as soon as she heard the commotion. Without another word to her teacher, the raven stalked out of the restaurant into the rain.

Sesshoumaru slammed his fist on the table and cursed.

* * *

AN: Tsk Tsk, Sesshoumaru. Keep your cool, old dog.

I'll be leaving for a trip so I decided to give you guys this chapter in advance, since I will not be uploading this weekend. As a result, this chapter is 3,000 words long, so that should keep you guys entertained for a while. Worry not though! The next chapter will make up for this sadder one, promise ;-;


	7. Chapter 7

**Series:** Inuyasha

 **Universe:** Modern Highschool AU

 **Pairing:** Eventual SessKag, Onesided KagInu

 **Rating:** PG-13 ( For now, susceptible to change).

 **Disclaimer:** Inuyasha and its characters are the intellectual property of one Rumiko Takahashi. I only make bad fanfiction about it.

 **Author's notes:** Thank you all so much for your patience, but most of all, for your words of encouragement and thoughtful critiques! Believe it or not, a lot of ideas came to me as I read some very interesting reviews, and this story just keeps evolving and changing, and just being buckets of fun for me! So keep those reviews coming, cuz you guys really do inspire me! Now, without further ado, here's hopefully something you guys enjoy.

* * *

 **Hentai High VII**

888

It was raining heavily, and within seconds Kagome was drenched as if she had jumped into a river, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get away as fast as possible, from Sesshoumaru, from school, from Inuyasha, from her sister – from everything. The dejected teen walked around blindly, not knowing where she was going except that she just wanted to _keep_ going. With the biting cold seeping through her thin uniform, Kagome hugged her arms closer to her chest, and set her face downcast, to try to escape the biting wind. At that moment though, Kagome would've have rather faced the elements and walk in a damn hurricane than face her own feelings.

Thinking back on it, perhaps Kagome had overreacted. She remembered Sesshoumaru's confused look, dripping with ice-cold water from head to toe, and she grimaced.

As much as she was angry at him, our how upsetting she had found his words, what truly got to Kagome was the infuriating and horrible fact that...he was right.

Her steps faltered and then slowed from their sprint as she withdrew inward into her own thoughts. Dammit, fucking Sesshoumaru was so right it _hurt._ For as long as Kagome could remember, she had always accommodated to Inuyasha's every single need. She had thought of their friendship as one of equality, but looking back on it, it was always Kagome doing him the favors and treating him with the dignity and respect any friend deserved. On the other side of the coin, Inuyasha was always brusque and quick to lose his temper with her. He would make fun of her ideas, call her names, and generally had a very angry attitude towards the world. He hadn't always been like that, Kagome remembered sadly. Not, at least, before his parents' deaths... Perhaps that was why Kagome had stuck around for so long. She had felt it was her responsibility to take care of this boy, to somehow come riding in and be his salvation from the demons that threatened to overwhelm him. She had been too understanding and too forgiving of his attitudes because, deep down, she had hoped to one day find that sweet and caring boy that she had befriended once upon a time. And, naively, she had wished that she could fix his problems with her love.

But she had never been enough.

Truth be told, Kagome didn't know how long she walked like that, a disoriented mess of tears and misery and anger, but she couldn't find it within herself to stop because she knew the moment she did she would collapse into a heap of sobs and screams. Kagome was alone, and just like that afternoon when she had fought with Inuyasha, nobody was chasing after her.

Funny. It was always her doing the chasing...

Just then, Kagome heard a car pull up beside her. Some protective instinct told her to look up and check if it was dangerous and she needed to run away. But upon spotting the vehicle, recognition blazed in her eyes, and her cheeks flushed for a completely different reason that had nothing to do with the cold. Kagome would be lying if she said she wasn't surprised to see the charcoal-grey Hyundai driving alongside her.

It was Sesshoumaru.

A part of her, infantile and destitute, sang at the thought that he had come for her. He had come, _for her._ Not even Inuyasha or her sister had done that. Though she was partially happy, she looked away, instantly upset again when she remembered his unkind words. Stubbornly, Kagome continued her stomped pace, water splashing with each marked step.

The sound of a car window rolling down pierced the heavy rain, and Kagome heard his familiar voice.

"Higurashi, get back in the car." Sesshoumaru demanded.

"No." she shouted back, and she knew how childish and ridiculous she sounded, a wet jumbled figure in the rain, but she didn't care.

"You're being absurd. Get back in, that's an order."

"Or what?" she snapped, whipping around and pinning him with a furious glare. "You'll give me more detention? Bring it, bastard, I don't even care anymore." She turned back to the sidewalk and continued walking away, leaving the man in stunned silence.

The car stopped following her, and dejectedly Kagome thought he had given up. _Yeah, run away just like everyone else_ , she thought miserably. But then, she heard the sound of brakes and a car door opening. She kept her gaze obstinately forward, refusing to look behind her even as she heard his heavy footsteps catch up to her, out of fear that it was all her imagination. Abruptly, her view of the street was blocked by a massive chest.

"Get out of the way, _sensei_." Kagome bit out, declining to meet his eyes.

Sesshoumaru did not get out of the way. In fact, he stepped closer, and his figure was so tall and broad it shielded her somewhat from the rain and wind. Almost immediately, his button-up shirt and trousers were fully wet. Annoyingly, she felt guilty about it, even though the reason he was there anyways was his fault to begin with. Kagome mustered all her anger, revving for the anticipated argument that was sure to follow. She was ready. Was he there to make more fun of her? To reprimand her for her awful display at his friend's restaurant? To tease her some more about her relationship, or nonexistant relationship, with his brother? Bring it on.

They stood there for what seemed like an eternity, two unmovable figures trapped in a cycle of yearning and regret and guilt and rage. Kagome wanted to grit her teeth, scream at him, hit him, and she was about to do all of that and more when finally he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Kagome."

That had not been what she had been expecting at all.

Kagome looked up, and she didn't know if she was more surprised by the apology or by his casual use of her first name. In all the years they had known each other, he had never called her by _Kagome_ before...

"Please, forgive me." Sesshoumaru continued, leaning down in an attempt to catch her gaze. His voice was loud and soft at the same time, trying be heard over the rain."What I said back there…it was out of order and cruel."

Kagome did look up then, frowning for all she was worth. Surprisingly though, she saw no ridicule in her teacher's eyes. He seemed pained, actually; remorseful, even. His expression, the most open she had ever seen from the usually expressionless man, grabbed her heart and clenched down _hard_. But despite the presumed sincerity of his apology, she was still too crossed to forgive him just yet. Suddenly, all the anger of the past few weeks, all the hurt and anguish bubbled up and out of her and Kagome could not stop the torrential wave of words that exploded from her.

"You know, that really hurt me, Sesshoumaru." she started, using his first name as well, her voice rising in volume. "You think I don't know? That Inuyasha doesn't give a flying fuck about me? That he'll never love me the way I love him, no matter how hard I try? That I will always be a cheap substitute to my sister?!"

"You are nobody's cheap substitute, Kagome." Sesshoumaru interjected quickly.

Kagome snorted, cleaning her nose with the sleeve of her uniform and looking away. "Yeah, right. Then why is Inuyasha not here then?" she spat. "If he gave a damn, he would be here, Sesshoumaru! He would _be here_!" she gasped out, pursing her mouth and trying to hold back a sob. Her chest trembled with the effort and Kagome had to look away from Sesshoumaru's pitying eyes.

"But he is not..." Sesshoumaru murmured, and Kagome could hear the words beneath the words.

 _He is not here._

 _But_ I _am._

 _"_ No..." Kagome agreed, swallowing thickly, the rain falling down her cheeks in place of her missing tears. "I suppose he isn't."

They stood there in silence, the rain hammering all around them, the car humming softly a few feet away.

"Get in the car, Kagome." Sesshoumaru, said again, this time much more gently.

And Kagome was tired of always abiding orders, and trying to be the perfect girl while always falling short of her sister. Kagome was tired of following, but never leading or choosing for herself, because it would be _selfish_ to do so, and she was sweet Kagome, the pure girl with the big heart. Always putting everybody before her, always taking the blame for others, always the shoulder to cry on. She had spent such a long time trying to be something she was not, keeping her own dreams and desires to herself, that she ached to be free. Kagome didn't want to obey anything else but her own heart, and her heart was telling her to walk away.

But, for one last time, Kagome nodded and walked toward the car. Not because she wanted to obey this infuriating bastard, or because she wanted to get out of the rain and into the dry warmth of the vehicle.

Kagome did it, because in that moment with her, Sesshoumaru sounded just as tired and sad as she felt.

* * *

AN: More to come! We're not done with this night yet! Stay tuned for the next chapter this weekend.


	8. Chapter 8

**Series:** Inuyasha

 **Universe:** Modern Highschool AU

 **Pairing:** Eventual SessKag, Onesided KagInu

 **Rating:** PG-13 ( For now, susceptible to change).

 **Disclaimer:** Inuyasha and its characters are the intellectual property of one Rumiko Takahashi. I only make bad fanfiction about it.

 **Author's notes:** My deepest apologies! You guys have no idea how much I struggled with this chapter. I must have rewritten it at least 20 times. It just never felt right, and even now, I feel like there are so many unresolved things that our characters didn't touch upon. But I also felt its realistic, because often times we revisit scenes in our own lives and wonder, "I should have said this, should have done that", and I didn't want to muddy this turning point with needless dialogue. THAT will come shortly, rest assured.

Anyways, I'm exhausted and I hope this little thing was worth all the wait for you guys. Its a lot of exposition, but bear with me. As always, enjoy.

* * *

The car was warm - too warm actually after coming in from the freezing rain, scorching even - but Kagome didn't dare open her mouth; she feared that if she did, nothing but unseemly sobs would pour out like a torrent of liquid melancholy. So her lips remained sealed, as if sown together by an imaginary thread of poise and self-control, and she counted from ten to one in her head, would start all over again, until she began to feel herself become more composed, more human.

Beside her, Sesshoumaru drove in absolute silence, much to her relief. Usually she would find his quiet nature sepulchral, would do and say anything to inspire even the barest of responses from him, but today the muteness was an oasis of calm for her troubled mind.

She didn't want to talk to him. She didn't want to fight with the only person around her who seemed to give a damn. As if fulfilling some unwritten contract, they drove on in - if not companionable - then at least mutual silence.

Kagome couldn't believe the day she had just had. It had truly been a rollercoaster of emotions, from sadness (thanks to Inuyasha), to happiness (thanks to Sango), then confusion and excitement at eating out (thanks to Sesshoumaru), followed almost immediately at the heels by righteous anger and shame at their fight, and now...

...What did Kagome feel now?

The raven looked outside the window, as humans are ought to do when facing an existential crisis while inside a motor vehicle, her eyes glazed and unseeing; vainly, trying to untangle the complicated knots that were her emotions. But with growing irritation, she observed how each time she would loosen one of those sensitive knots, it would just end up mixing and tangling once more with the next one, until it became a hellish cycle that would never end. It left her feeling unhappy and frustrated and - _God,_ was this that famous _teenage angst_ people often talked about? It couldn't be something so pathetic and self-absorbed, except Kagome was pretty sure it probably was, and she felt petty for even indulging in such feelings. Frowning slightly, Kagome tried to clear her mind as much as she could, or at least distract it with something else. Her brain eagerly jumped onto her favorite topic as of late and whose subject was conveniently sitting right next to her on the driver's side of the car.

The raven wondered, for the millionth time, what her teacher was thinking.

 _More than likely, he was probably fed up with her by now,_ she mulled dolefully. Kagome hoped not, but she didn't know why it was suddenly so important that Sesshoumaru didn't see her as a burden, but…an equal, perhaps?

They're relationship was an odd one, for sure. They were inextricably bound by that faint string of familiarity from younger days, like when she was six and would hide in his bedroom whilst playing hide-and-seek with Inuyasha and Kikyo, and Sesshoumaru - eleven at the time - would pretend to ignore her all the while frowning at her over the top of his latest issue of Shounen Jump. Sesshoumaru would roll his eyes and murmur something along the lines of "brats"; but in the same breath, he would point to his closet with his eyes, where Kagome would scurry with breathless giggles, and if Inuyasha happened to pass by his doorway asking if he had seen the girl, he would shrug with a dissenting grunt, casually reminding Inuyasha against taking another step inside unless he wanted to be thoroughly kicked out like many times in the past.

(After many a game where Kagome would reign "Supreme Hiding Champion", Inuyasha would later come to ban his older brother's room as permissible hiding grounds under the Hide-and-seek Class Act of '06.)

Obviously, they were no longer children, and their relationship, tenuous as it was between strangers who just happened to have known each other their entire lives, had grown more inexplicably complex during the last few weeks. The question now lay…how much more complex was Kagome willing to make it?

The streets gradually became more familiar, and Kagome began to recognize houses in her neighborhood. All too soon, Sesshoumaru arrived to her childhood home - or at least the front entrance with the absurdly long stairs that led to her home, one of the particularities of living in a shrine - and gently parked in front of it. Even from the distance, Kagome noted that the lights in the lower levels of the house were off, and Kagome deduced that her mother probably hadn't arrived from work yet.

Silence reigned over them once more. Kagome had just started getting some feeling back in her fingers and arms, the warmth seeping into her wet clothes. Guiltily, she thought about the mess she would leave in Sesshoumaru's expensive leather seats, but the man didn't seem concerned about it in the slightest. Actually, he seemed preoccupied with something else entirely. Kagome chanced a glance at him from the corner of her eye, and saw his hands holding on to the steering wheel, so tight his knuckles were bone-white under the gray overcast of the rain.

Kagome looked back down at her own hands, fisted over her lap, and belatedly she realized that her skirt was pooled rather suggestively around her waist, the wet fabric clinging to the top of her thighs at an alarmingly short length. She blushed, embarrassed, but was too tense to move, too shy to draw attention to it, and too aware of the situation to cover her modesty.

As they sat there in shared stillness, both warring with their thoughts, night fell around them. The car hummed continuously in tempo with the rain, and Kagome recognized how strange the situation was indeed. A teacher and his student, both wet and sitting in the dark inside of a running car, with the windows fogging up from their combined body heat. If anybody happened to walk by…

 _"They think you're sleeping with the bastard."_

She shut her eyes tight, as if the action would also shut the words out. Kagome needed to apologize. She needed to let him know that this was not his fault, that she was thankful for his kindness. But more importantly, that they could not meet again like this.

Her breath hitched softly at the suggestion. The thought of not meeting again pained her more than she had expected. After the last couple of months of bonding, Kagome didn't know if she was okay with taking Sesshoumaru out of her life. Not seeing him again...it hurt almost just as much as not seeing Inuyasha.

Maybe...even more.

But she had to be responsible. Kagome would apologize for her behavior at the restaurant, request a different teacher for the rest of her detention, and leave this man's life once and for all except as just his most doting student. Nothing else, though.

Kagome took a shuddering breath-

"I really am sorry." Sesshoumaru whispered, breaking out of whatever reverie he had been under.

The raven teen looked to him, her words dying in her throat at his unexpected apology. There was no moon tonight, and his profile was silhouetted in darkness, cloaking his face, his expression. Kagome swallowed as she become conscious of how the rain had turned the white of her teacher's button-up shirt transparent, and she could see skin and muscle showing through the fabric, luminescent under the starlight. She had never sat next to a dripping man with a see-through shirt, and the visual was oddly erotic and forever imprinted in her mind. She wondered, as he turned to look at her, if her own uniform had experienced the same effect from the rain, but she dared not look away from his eyes to confirm.

"I do not know what overcame me…" he continued, his voice deep and soft and strangely calming; like waves crashing at sea, deep and powerful and heavy with the promise of mercurial rage before a storm."…and I am not excusing my behavior at all. All I ask is that you forgive me for behaving like a brute." He seemed truly upset by it, his yellow eyes searching her face for forgiveness, and Kagome felt the tiniest tug of a smile on her lips, on her heart.

"I apologize too…" she replied shyly, her voice fading into the quietness of the car. Sesshoumaru gave her a puzzled look. "You know…for calling you a bastard. Even though you _were_." She chuckled lightly at his surprised expression. "And also for throwing the water glass at you. And...for everything really." Timidly, she looked up at him through a fringe of midnight lashes, and he seemed to be considering her. His eyes, electric yellow, alien and sharp, scanned her carefully and Kagome wondered what it was he saw.

"Well...I really _was_ a bastard." he admitted deadpan. At her startled laugh he smirked, and it wasn't the pale imitation of a smile she had seen at the restaurant but a sliver of white blooming on his face, thin and bright like a crescent moon. Kagome's chest fluttered at the real smile, the one he seldom showed to others, shared only with her during those late evenings in detention and now inside his warm car. It was brilliant and genuine, softening his angular features into something angelic, and unexpectedly she had the most absurd impulse to reach out and touch him to see if he were real.

Sesshoumaru seemed to be having similar thoughts, because suddenly he was closer, and Kagome realized they had both leaned in at the same time.

Kagome's smile disappeared.

In the darkness, the sound of blood pumping through her ears drowned out the rain.

They continued staring at each other, and belatedly Kagome realized that perhaps she should look away. But like prey caught in the hypnotizing glare of it's predator, she found that she could not tear her eyes away from his. Something was happening, there was a magnetic tension, loud and humming in its intensity, and Kagome found that she needed to do something, _say_ something, anything, lest her body decided for her.

"No." she whispered.

Sesshoumaru stared, and between the slight puckering of his eyebrows Kagome could discern the slightest hint of confusion, of rejection, at her uttered monosyllabic word. Averting his eyes, Sesshoumaru began to ease back to his side of the car, already opening his mouth for some unnecessary apology, when Kagome grabbed his wrist. She hated this wretched, bewildering feeling coursing through her, this emotion that was overcoming her reason and making her act like this. But she hated Sesshoumaru pulling away from her even more.

"No you're not..." Kagome heard herself say, as if from far away, her voice barely above a whisper. Sesshoumaru did not move at all, a carved statue of marble, but for the smallest lift of his eyebrow that showed he was hanging on to her every word and urging her on.

"You're not a bastard." She clarified, and she noted the sudden sense of urgency that possessed her, to make him understand this fact. "I lied. You _act_ like a bastard sometimes, and you may not always say the right thing, but..."

Kagome's tilted her head, examining the handsome planes of his face. The rain had mostly dried off his body, but there was still a thin sheen of damp that left his skin looking gloriously smooth and glowing. She wondered, manically, obsessively, if she were to run her tongue along the angular line of his jaw if it would taste like rain or like Sesshoumaru. And what did Sesshoumaru _taste_ like...

Trying to follow through with her original train of thought, Kagome finished her sentence. "...you are a good man, Sesshoumaru. And...I am very lucky and blessed to have you in my life."

Silence, penetrating and loud in the small and ever-warming confines of the car, stretched on after that very embarrassing confession.

Wait, not confession. This was totally not a love confession. She was just expressing her gratitude.

But more importantly, when exactly had they leaned so close to each other?

The silence was unbearable and Kagome realized she was rambling, but could not stop, the words dropping from between her teeth on a string of unending thoughts. "These past few weeks have been the most miserable of my life." She confessed softly, remembering Inuyasha with an ache, and there would always be an ache, and she struggled past the hurt because she did _not_ want to cry again, not in front of Sesshoumaru, not with him _here,_ for her. "But you…and this might sound strange, but you have remained the one bright thing to look forward to, every single day. More than a dutiful teacher, to me you're a friendly ear, a supportive figure, and…a good friend. I wish…"she looked up and stopped, not knowing how to finish that sentence, not knowing is she _should._

Sesshoumaru licked his lips and swallowed, the noise amplified to Kagome's suddenly hyper-sensitive ears, and she watched transfixed as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down at the action, ever so slowly. She thought it strange that she noticed something as innocuous as that, but then realized that the top two buttons of his shirt, which were normally closed, were undone. The man was usually careful about being as professionally put-together as possible, anal about it even. So the sight of even that much of skin peeking through the collar of his button-up, revealing such a small amount of naked flesh to her virtuous eyes, was enough to fascinate the girl.

But it also looked out of place, her usually impeccable teacher disheveled, and it was wrong, wrong, _wrong,_ and Kagome ached to fix the mistake. He was the only thing perfect in her life.

Without thinking, she reached out.

Sesshoumaru heard his own sharp intake of breath as Kagome's small fingers hooked onto the front of his collar and with a forceful tug pulled him forward, _closer_.

The man had undone the top two buttons absent-mindedly hours ago, a stress-induced gesture provoked from the panic of searching for her through the streets when she had walked out of the restaurant - he had been so callous, so incredibly _stupid_ and _thoughtless_ with his words, and what if something were to happen to her - and the frenzy had been suffocating enough that he just needed to _breathe._ Undoing his shirt had brought some sense of relief, enough to calm him to the point where he could think coherently enough about where she might have gone.

But now, with her soft, delicate hands so innocently grazing the base of his neck, knuckles caressing the top of his collarbone, there was suddenly _not enough air-_

Kagome looked up at his gasp, all wide eyes and open mouth, and Sesshoumaru was torn between the dual realities that perhaps she was not trying to seduce him - not consciously at least - but she was doing one helluva good job at it.

He'd hoped she was though, secretly. Hypothetically. In a world where she wasn't his favorite student, sitting in his car all delectable and nubile, and the very unhypothetical sound of her soft panting was sending warmth from every nerve-ending in his body directly to his groin -

But alas, the surprise on her face at her own bold action, at having trespassed the invisible barrier of talking to _touching_ , was enough to tip him to the fact that she was, not in fact, trying to entice him. Sesshoumaru sighed, and he pretended it was out of relief since he had very firmly told himself that this was exactly the kind of thing that he could not allow to happen. And so he waited for her to pull back, ramble an embarrassed apology at her boldness and head into her home never to speak on the subject ever again.

The seconds ticked by, and groaning internally, Sesshoumaru noted with sweet desperation that Kagome did not do any of the above things.

Instead, her hands remained stubbornly stuck to the front of his chest and, with growing dismay, Sesshoumaru felt the growing little trails of fire that her fingers were starting and spreading throughout his chest cavity. Perhaps that would explain the sudden raging inferno that was overtaking his heart.

Sesshoumaru stared at her intently, expectantly, waiting for her to realize the danger of the fires licking away at his self-control.

Meanwhile, Kagome was having a terrible time finding her voice.

Try as she might, lips parting and opening, moving up and down in a mimicry of speech, her voice was nowhere in sight, and Kagome seriously reconsidered printing out missing posters and hanging them up with a handsome reward attached.

"I-" she stammered, like a newborn babe using her vocal chords for the first time. "What I mean is- I- you-" What had she been saying before? That he was a good man? That he should be proud of his accomplishments, of what he inspired in students? That he was funny, and charming and cute -

No, no, no!

That wasn't it at all.

Wait, Kagome still had to properly apologize to him! And she had to tell him about the false rumors circulating about them being lovers, and about switching teachers during the remainder of her detention for the sake of _his_ reputation. These were crucial things to discuss!

But all those matters were thrown out of the metaphorical window when Sesshoumaru was looking at her in a way that turned her brain into radioactive goo.

Kagome didn't know when this strange dance had begun, when feelings had changed from brotherly to friendship to _this,_ but she felt disinclined to stop it. A side of her that had yet to be set loose, that had always rebelled against the innocent girl she pretended to be, the untouched virginal woman who had foolishly been keeping her purity for the sake of a boy who she hated and loved and despised and adored, savored the sweet irony that she would finally get to fulfill all of it's pleasures under the strong tutelage of the boy's _brother._ Her most logical side, the one currently being trampled by the primal instincts of longing, argued that perhaps these feelings were nothing more than the desperate attempt to forget the pain of a lost love; but Kagome could not muster the energy to care and shyly, coyly, she looked up at the man who looked so much like the boy she did not hate, and tried to communicate to him these feelings.

Sesshoumaru's arm extended towards her, and Kagome thought he would reach for her, cup her face, make her forget her sadness and worries and everything. She didn't know exactly what she wanted, what she expected to happen, but she wanted it to be with him and here and now.

Sessshoumaru's thoughts were in turmoil.

He could have her now. He knew it. She was vulnerable and sad and needy, her soft breath brushing his face and undoing his resolve. He could have her, and take away the sorrow that his idiotic brother had caused and she wouldn't hate him for it, would embrace it even. All he had to do was close the gap. Take that one final step towards perdition.

And he _wanted_ her. Oh, Sesshoumaru could lie to himself no further as he drank in her wet form, how the fabric clung to her pale, glowing limbs; how her lips, pink and soft and plump, parted with each labored breath. His eyes devoured the way her hair, damp and silky black, framed the high planes of her cheeks, kissed the top of her eyes, blue and bright and impossibly big. Sesshoumaru yearned to reach forward and press his lips against hers, drink in her sighs and feel those delicate hands, the ones from the bike ride and his dreams, fumble innocently across his naked body, until he wasn't sure where her skin began and his ended.

But more than anything, Sesshoumaru wanted _her_. Her laughter and tears, her dreams and aspirations, failures and miseries – he wanted all of it. That which his brother had so callously taken for granted and he had watched and cherished from afar. Sesshoumaru wanted her more than anybody he had ever dared to want.

And it was so _wrong._ He couldn't _have_ her, was not supposed to _covet_ her, and worse yet he didn't even _want_ to want her. It was Sesshoumaru's own damn fault too, seeing as he knew the desire was there all along, but rather than pruning the bud from the start he had, masochistically, tended to the flower of temptation like a dutiful gardener, and then wondered at the thorns piercing his gloved hands as he tried to embrace the forbidden rose.

And there was temptation in the desire, in the forbidden, more than he would like to admit.

Sesshoumaru teetered dangerously on the lip of a precipice and, hysterically, wondered how it was that he had come to that moment.

Beside him, Kagome's hands on his neck twitched and then, very tremulously, spread outwards, releasing the worried buttons and laying claim upon the vast expanse on his chest. Sesshoumaru felt himself shudder, the terrible ache in his skin echoing loudly along the incarcerated bones of his body and tumbling down his spine; and he itched to grab her hands, her delicate fire-starters, and guide them across his flesh to the places that had frozen over time with sorrow and loneliness and the weight of the world on shoulders much too young.

Sesshoumaru swallowed, hard, and closed his eyes.

How he could even entertain such fantasies showed that he truly was insane, because even the mere notion of strengthening whatever strange feelings were flowing between them was out of the question.

She was a student.

He was a teacher.

Teachers _could_ _not_ want students.

Period.

 _Well..._ his mind supplied slyly as his mind's eye devoured the sight of the raven before him, her pink lips pushed upwards in a pout, ... _she won't be your student forever._

That was true, he agreed to himself, opening his eyes once more to the sight of Kagome, leaning closer, biting the tender mound of flesh between her perfectly straight teeth, invitingly.

His wish was a double-edged sword though...

True, Kagome was nearly out of her girlish youth but her passage to womanhood also meant something else - she would be leaving soon. In a few months' time, Kagome would be graduating and either go to college here in Tokyo or perhaps out of the city, but Sesshoumaru was certain of one thing; she would most likely never return to him afterwards. Sure, perhaps he would get the occasional social media message from her sending a thoughtful Kagome-esque greeting; he would most likely see her on holiday gatherings when she would come home from university, since Mrs. Higurashi would always make a note to invite him and his brother to any festivities, and they would exchange pleasantries and humorous anecdotes along the lines of "Do you remember when", and so on and so forth. Yes, maybe someday far off in the unpredictable future they may or may not meet again. But here, in the present, their time was running out, and Sesshoumaru could feel the desperation pressing against his heart, filling his lungs with the poisonous smoke of withheld wishes, restricting his airway and very slowly choking him to death with regret.

Was he truly so cowardly as to hide behind the excuse of his role to let the one creature he cared for leave?

Was he truly so villainous as to corrupt a child with his own desires?

Sesshoumaru looked into her eyes, into the widened, velvety darkness of her dilated pupils, and saw his own struggling reflection.

He wanted her, yes. Wanted her enough to bleed.

Sesshoumaru grit his teeth.

But _wanting_ was not, could not, be the same as _having_.

Cursing under his breath, he leaned across the girl and grabbed the handle of her door, pushing it outward. Upon opening it, the sound of rain amplified, a cool wind drafting inside and clearing his mind as effectively as a cold shower; the spell broke as reality reasserted itself around them and into their confined world.

Kagome deflated, the tension in her nerves buzzing like she had run a marathon, and Kagome was left with the most peculiar sensation that she had been cheated.

"Goodnight, Higurashi." Sesshoumaru said tersely as he leaned back into his own space. Had Kagome imagined the strange pressure that had been bearing down on them? Had she somehow blacked out for a second and dreamed up the intensity of his gaze, the desire in her own body? Still reeling from the strange experience, Kagome nodded and mumbled her own farewell. Clumsily, she got out of the vehicle.

As she was ready to close the door, Sesshoumaru suddenly reached out and caught her smaller hand in his larger one. Kagome's eyes widened. Looking back into the car, she saw that Sesshoumaru seemed just as surprised of his actions as she did. He recovered quicker than she did though, and Kagome strained to hear him over the rain.

"You are nobody's substitute, Kagome. Never forget that." He reminded her, and Kagome remembered the previous conversation when he had found her walking aimlessly in the rain. It seemed like forever ago now. "Not to me, at least." His hand squeezed her own gently, as if trying to convey something of importance to the girl.

And just as suddenly, he let go, and Kagome's hand felt small and cold and empty-

Sesshoumaru closed the door, and drove off into the night. Kagome stood there in the rain, on her front porch, and watched him go until his car disappeared.

She raised a hand, the one he had held, the one that had touched his chest and felt his heart beating wildly beneath her fingers, and brought it to her face for inspection. It was shaking and for the life of her Kagome could not decipher why.

* * *

AN: Ahhh, sweet agony. Was it good? Are you guys enjoying the pace? I've got a couple more chapters to go before we finally reach fruition for this story! Hang in there!

Also, some R&R would be greatly appreciated. I feel like I have lost my way with this fic, and while I do have some more chapters written out, the continuity feels feeble at best. It'd be nice to have a beta or editor, now I understand the struggles of real writers jaja.


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